Into the Salmon Lands
by ARandomInterloper
Summary: In search of a missing DJ, heroes travel into unknown parts. Continued from "Life in Inkopolis: The Tournament"
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This is continued from my story "Life in Inkopolis: The Tournment" so you may be confused as to who some of these characters are if you haven't been reading my other stories.**

 **Into the Salmon Lands**

Chapter 1

 **Captured…**

 **Inklings and an Octoling.**

 **They will be forced to fight for their lives.**

 **May the odds be in their favor…**

 **Days Earlier…Sarah's POV**

Callie, Guyver, and I were put on a Flying Saucer with Finnia the Salmonling. We could've taken Terry as well, but we decided to leave him behind because he could still hold some useful information in case we lose Finnia somehow, so we can claim to hold him hostage as a bargaining chip and the fact that Callie didn't want to risk getting bitten again. I can understand that.

Marina would be remotely piloting the UFO since Callie and I didn't know how to operate Octo tech and Guyver only worked on parts for the aircraft.

We just got to the region the Rivers should be in when we had to start asking Finnia for directions.

"Errrr…" Finnia was looking around. "Where we?"

"We're in the region." Guyver told her. "Shouldn't you know the rest of the way?"

Finnia was looking out the window, squinting her eyes.

"Oh!" She turned to us. "No know. I swim!"

"…Oh…" Callie turned to us. "She doesn't recognize it because she usually swims there."

"What about landmarks?" I asked. "Any familiar ones?"

"Um…" Finnia looked around. "Ooh, ooh! Aaarrrr!"

She pointed to an old possible pirate ship that was wrecked along a small island, barely a block wide.

"North!" Finnia pointed.

The ship then made its way North. It was about an hour before Finnia started looking out the window again.

"West!" Finnia said and the ship turned West.

"So how much longer?" I asked.

She was about to answer when the outside a window, we saw five Salmonid Motherships rise from the water.

"What do we do?!" I started panicking.

"Oh!" Guyver pulled Finnia over to the window.

He started waving and urged Finnia to do the same.

After a few seconds of waving, the motherships started heading in a certain direction, clearly guiding us. We had the ship follow.

You know, I'm starting to feel we're extremely unprepared for this…

After another while, we started seeing land. It was a river delta.

This is it.

"So what's the plan for getting down there?" I asked.

The comms then turned on to reveal Marina's voice.

"You three are going to jump off when you're close enough to the ground." Marina told us. "I'll then take the Saucer away while you explore. If you run into any trouble you can't handle, I'll bring the saucer back."

"Alright." Guyver replied.

"We got this!" I bragged.

"Let's find us a DJ!" Callie cheered.

We waited until we were low enough, and then jumped off. We landed in a forest. Guyver than pulled Finnia up.

"Alright, where to now?" Guyver asked.

"Follow river!" Finnia answered.

I guess that was obvious.

Well, time to walk…

 **Two Hours Later…**

"Soooooo tiiiiiirrreeed!" Callie whined.

"My feet are killing me…" I groaned.

"Sorry…" Marina apologized over the comms. "If I'd known it'd be such a long walk, I'd have told you to wait before jumping."

"I'm not used to walking long distance…" Guyver remarked.

"Water…" Finnia whined.

"Here." I handed her a water bottle.

Finnia opened the bottle and splashed the water in her face.

"Don't waste water!" I shouted.

"No waste!" She pointed to her skin. It was getting a bit scale-y and flaky.

"So you dry up after a while." I noticed. "Is it dangerous?"

"No…" She started scratching herself and splashing more water on. "Itchyyyy…"

Well, at least we know she's not in danger…wait, she's our prisoner…why should I…okay, I care…I guess she's just been too friendly and helpful for me not to.

After yet another few minutes, Finnia started looking around and then stopped at a bunch of bushes..

"Here!" She pushed leaves out of the way.

Beyond the leaves was a large lake with many rivers flowing into it. There were several buildings on the land and in the shallow parts of the water. Many looked like they were put together with random things the Salmonids found, some were made of stone/marble and clearly very old temples and colosseums, and some others were made of metal and looked like they were made in recent decades.

I brought out my binoculars.

It seemed lower-class fodder like Smallfrys, Chums, Snatchers, and Cohocks lived in the makeshift houses, the different boss Salmonids worked at the metal buildings, and the Goldies hung around the old stone/marble buildings.

I could see different Salmonids popping out of certain parts of water. Probably just born. They each looked different depending on where they came from. My guess is their looks are determined by where they hatch. Wait, I think that's in the handbook…

Wait…

"Where'd you come from?" I asked Finnia. "I don't see any Salmonlings being born."

"I from those." She pointed to the metal buildings.

Yup, definitely a lab experiment.

"So we'll probably find Octavio in one of those buildings…" Guyver guessed.

"But how do we get close?" Callie wondered. "We don't exactly blend in."

"Maybe I ask?" Finnia suggested.

We then saw the Salmonids gather together as a Mothership lifted off.

"A run must be going badly for them…" I guessed. "The manual says sending the mothership is a last resort."

"Except for those times when they come first wave." Guyver added.

"That's our ticket in!" Callie said. "We'll move when they're watching a Mothership leave!"

"But remember the Salmonids have a wicked sense of smell." I reminded her.

"Wait." Guyver turned to us. "What if I went in with Finnia? Octarians have trade deal with the Salmonids. Maybe if I come in with Finnia the two of us can explore more."

"Are there Octarians around here?" Callie asked Finnia.

"M-hm!" Finnia nodded her head and pointed to the metal buildings.

"Then give it a try." Callie liked the idea.

Guyver nodded his head and took Finnia down to the settlement. It seemed the Salmonids were buying it and Guyver and Finnia were able to get into one of the metal buildings.

 **One Hour Later…**

Callie and I were sitting around, bored for an hour. I'd text my friends, but my phone has zero reception here.

Guyver's been radio silent for a bit. He hasn't activated his distress beacon, so he must be staying radio silent not to get caught.

"So…how are things between you and Otis?" I asked.

"Oh, it's going well." Callie answered. "He took me to the park the other day. Had to disguise, obviously."

"Ah." I nodded my head.

"…So, um…can I ask you something?" Callie wondered.

"Sure." I shrugged.

"Do you think Otis is the type to get serious?" Callie asked. "I-if it gets to the point of getting serious, of course."

"Of course." I answered. "A Ligo commits. That's one of the family phrases, anyway."

"Oh?" Callie seemed intrigued.

"Basically when someone in my family finds someone they really, really like, they commit, no questions asked." I told her. "My gramps committed to my Gram-Gram, my dad Committed to my mom…and step-mom…and I'm sure Otis'll commit if you want to get serious."

"…Does that mean you'll commit to Guyver?" Callie smirked.

My face immediately went red.

"I-if it gets to that point, m-maybe…" I replied. "I-I don't wanna think of that stuff yet…"

"It's fine!" Callie hand-waved the matter. "You're 14. You don't have things figured out yet. Heck, I'm 19 and I still don't have everything figured out."

"Y-yeah…" I nodded my head.

"Hi ho!" Finnia appeared from the bushes.

"Finnia?!" I shot up. "Where's Guyver?"

"Oh, forgot!" Finnia remembered. "Papa say Sur-y-endar? Or splat."

"…Papa…?" Callie was hesitant to find out who that was.

Before we knew it, several Salmonids came out of the bushes and surrounded us.

"I-it's okay, Cal!" I whipped out my Brush. "I'm an Overachieving Profreshional!"

I swallowed my words as a frying pan hit me from behind and everything went to black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **Some Time Later…Guyver's POV**

I woke up in a cell. Geez, that was a hard hit…

I looked around to find Callie and Sarah were also in the cell.

Well, that didn't take long to go wrong…

"You awake!" Finnia called from outside the cell. "Good Morning!"

"Morning?!" I was surprised.

"You sleep long." Finnia replied.

I then noticed we still had our headsets on. Salmonids must've not known what these were for. Either that or they didn't notice or probably didn't care.

"So what now?" I asked. "You gonna eat us?"

"Papa say you fight." Finnia said. "Fight in Arena. Fight to live."

"Who's Papa?" I asked.

"Papa is Papa." She didn't answer. "Papa chief in Rivers tribe."

"What's he like?" I was intrigued.

"Papa strong!" She answered. "Papa champ in arena! Papa to all Salmonling!"

"He…made you?" I was confused and a little weirded out. "How?"

"Oh, Papa no make Salmonling." She corrected me. "Salmonling from lab. Octopus put needle in Salmon mama. Salmonling born of Salmon mama. Salmon Mama no like Salmonling. Too weird for Salmon Mama. Salmon mama slap Salmonling away. Papa take Salmonling in."

"And sends you to the Octarians…" I added.

"Salmonling no fight yet!" She whined. "Other Salmon fight, but Salmonling no fight. Octopus let Salmon fight! Papa like Octopus let Salmonling fight!"

"Well, I think I understand more now…" I remarked. "So this Papa means a lot to you?"

"Yes, Yes!" She nodded her head.

"…Maybe you can convince him to let us go?" I suggested.

"Mmmmmmmm-no." She replied. "No say no to Papa."

"W-what about teaching you to be fresh?" I reminded her.

"Mmmm-maybe." She sort of agreed. "You fight, then talk. Maybe Papa spare. Then teach fresh for Finnia!

"Well, we battled in one tournament." I shrugged. "We can battle in another."

"You do good." Finnia assured me. "Finnia sure!"

"Well, better hope it goes quickly." I told her. "Terry's still with the others, so he has a head start on you."

"Aaah!" She gasped. "Finnia make you get fight quick then!"

She then scurried off.

Well, what now?

I looked over to Sarah.

Hm…well, I can see if this works…

I walked over to Sarah and leaned over her. I got my face closer to hers.

"Hmmm…" Sarah opened her eyes. "Gah! Guyver!"

"Aw man," I groaned. "I was going to see if that waking someone up with a kiss thing from fairy tales actually works…"

"Maybe next time." She smiled as she got up. "We're in a cell, aren't we?"

"Awaiting a fight in the arena." I added. "We'll fight for our lives and Finnia will try to convince the chief to spare our lives."

"Well, that'll be fun, I'm sure." She rolled her eyes.

"Uuuugh…" Callie started waking up. "What happened?"

Guess I'm going to have to explain this again…

 **Meanwhile…Cuttlefish Cabin**

"Cap'n!" Marina called out. "They finally radioed in!"

"What radio?" Terry asked.

"Oh, thank heavens!" Cap'n Cuttlefish breathed a sigh of relief. "I'd never forgive m'self if I let anything bad happened to those three."

"What radio?" Terry asked again.

"They aren't in the clear yet." Marina told him. "They'll have to fight for their lives in an arena."

"As if we didn't have enough to worry about…" Marie groaned. "Well, at least we can finally tune into what they're doing. We should tell the other agents they're okay."

"Right." Marina nodded her head. "Maybe that'll calm Three and Eight out of their rampage."

"They were pretty mad though after seeing the security footage you found…" Marie nodded. "What does Cass want with Arnold, anyway?"

"Whatever it is, it can't be good…" Cap'n cuttlefish shook his head.

"Maybe she want to be knowing what radio is like Terry!" Terry shouted.

Suddenly, someone came out of the Manhole. It was an elderly Horseshoe Crab in an electric wheelchair.

"Ammoses!" Cuttlefish got excited. "Always great to see you!"

Ammosses then moved towards the Cap'n. He started babbling a large series of incoherent mumbling, coughing, and gasping.

"H-hm…" Cuttlefish nodded. "Don't worry, we're on the case! Come on, Agent 2!"

The two squids immediately left.

Ammosses looked around.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Shellendorf!" Marina politely greeted the crab.

"Crab man, what Radio?" Terry asked.

Ammosses was trying to process what he was looking at.

 **Inkopolis Square…**

"So…" Tha Cap'n turned to Marie. "Any idea what he said?"

"You didn't know?!" Marie was shocked to hear.

"I haven't understood a word he's said in 10 years." Cuttlefish explained. "I…just…don't have the hearts to tell him that one of his best friends can't understand him anymore…"

"I understand, gramps." Marie sighed. "Cod knows I'll do anything to avoid an awkward situation…"

"Well, I'm goin' to tell Otis his sister's fine." Cuttlefish started to leave. "He's probably worried sick. Also, it gives me a place to avoid Ammoses until either I can figure out what he wants or the problem fixes itself."

"And I'm going to…radio in with the other Agents, I guess…" Marie shrugged.

The two waved each other goodbye as they parted ways.

 **Earlier…Otis's POV**

I was playing a game of Oublietts and Omuras with Sam and Damien. Ivan was still MIA and I brought Zoey along because she was pretty depressed today and thought it would cheer her up. Heck, we all need cheering up after three people just went missing…

"I strike the Sea Dragon with my divine blade right in his neck." I said.

"Roll 10 or higher." Damien said.

"…17!" I pumped a fist in the air.

"Okay…you successfully cleave the Sea Dragon's head clean off." Damien and the rest of the table clapped their hands. "Now for its babies."

"This sucks…" Zoey whined. "I don't feel any better and I hate this!"

"How about you role-play a bit?" Sam suggested. "Get into character?"

"It'd give you a one-up on Ivan." Damien shrugged. "Every time we try to roleplay this, Ivan ruins it."

"Are you still on his fourth-wall breaking?" Sam asked. "It's a common thing people do."

"It's stupid!" Damien shouted. "There's a reason Ivan was only OM once! Tiny pieces of fourth-wall breaking are fine, but how were we supposed to make our characters fight ourselves? It completely sucks out the immersion! He only did it because it's easy to have characters acknowledge that they're in a story! Fourth-wall breaking is just a crutch for writers who can't write!"

"Chill out, Damien." Sam told him. "You know how Ivan is."

"Yeah…" Damien sighed. "I do…"

"I…didn't know you felt so strongly about this…" I was a bit uneasy.

"I just got tired of it real quick…" Damien groaned. "Sorry Zoey…um…your turn…"

"Um…I-uh…Ugh…" Zoey was thinking. "I attack the closest baby with-uh…magic bolt?"

She then rolled the dice.

"You do 15 points of damage." Damien told her. "It'll take 5 points of storm damage each turn."

"Joy…" Zoey rolled her eyes.

"Are you seriously still thinking of being with him?" I asked. "You went after one guy and he wasn't in to you. Not the end of the world."

"But why?!" Zoey whined. "I knew him for years and I just…just…Gah!"

She just put her head down.

"And now he's off with some floozy…" Zoey groaned.

"That 'floozy' is my sister." I reminded her.

"I-I'm sorry!" She immediately apologized. "I'm stupid, stupid!"

She slammed her head back onto the table.

"Maybe we should just pack up for today?" Damien suggested. "No offense, but the mood's kind of ruined now."

"And he's not even an adorkable nerd anymore…" Zoey groaned. "I miss when he'd go on and on about engineering and I'd pretend to listen so I could stare into his eyes…"

"Yeah, that's probably for the best." I agreed.

"And I didn't even get to slaughter the children yet." Beth remarked.

We then started packing up. I noticed Damien looked a bit concerned.

"Um…hey, it's okay…" Damien tried comforting Zoey. "You'll-um…find someone…"

"No I won't…" Zoey said. "I'm ugly and no one wants me…"

"You're not ugly!" Damien told her. "You look great! You'll-uh…find someone, I'm sure."

"Y-you really think so?" Zoey looked up at him.

"Uh-y-yeah…" Damien got a little nervous. "W-with your u-um…spirit a-and uh…d-dualie skills! Y-you'll b-be f-fine."

"Y-you're so niiiiice!" Zoey cried. "I feel better now."

"W-well, good!" Damien was a bit weirded out. "Well, Sam and I gotta go now."

Sam and Damien then walked out the game room.

Zoey watched them leave, looking like she was thinking of something, and then scrambled to get the things she used for the game.

"Wait!" She yelled ad she ran out. "You doing anything later?!"

Well…that happened.

Guess it's back home for now…

 **20 Minutes Later…Flounder Heights**

Back to the old place again…

I looked at my phone. Nothing again.

I hope they're okay…

I then got a knock on the door. It was the Cap'n.

"Oh, hey." I said. "What's up?"

"The agents we sent to the Rivers are fine." He told me. "They're still in trouble, but they're alive."

"Well, that's a relief…" I sighed.

"Aaaand can I stay here a bit?" He asked. "Ammosses is here n' he wants somethin' from me n' I can't understand him anymore."

"No one can." I shrugged. "Sure, you can stay here a bit. Any other updates?"

"Nope." He replied. "3 n' 8 are still roamin' the Canyon n' we're still tryin' to figure a way into the Gorge."

"Hm…" I had to think. "Well, maybe-"

"Hi!" Someone nearby shouted towards us. "You're Otis, right?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 **Octo Canyon…Arnold's POV**

I heard some fumbling with the door before Cass came in.

"What were you doing?" I wondered.

"Just-uh…straightening out the name on the door…" She answered before sitting next to me. "Now…anything I can do for you?"

"What is some of the stuff in this room, anyway?" I wondered. "What's that key thing?"

"Something that's useless now." She answered.

"And the two shot glasses on the stool?" I noticed. "Why two?"

"…It's a keepsake…" She didn't explain.

"From what?" I tilted my head.

"I don't wanna talk about it…" She stated.

Okay…

"What's that?" I looked over to some fabric in the corner.

"That's my witch costume." She said.

"When did you dress like a witch?" I wondered.

"It was at a Splatoween party in Inkopolis." She told me.

"Wait, Splatoween?" I was confused. "How long was I out?!"

"Splatoween years ago." She rolled her eyes. "I went to Inkopolis when I was 16."

Wait, that was 7 years ago…I was about 11…what did I go as that year? Wait…

"You've been to Inkopolis?" I was surprised. "…And you came back?"

"I went to steal some Zapfish and was successful." She bragged.

Really?

Wait…idea...

"Can…can you try on the witch costume?" I asked. "I'm sure you'd look great."

"Uh…o-okay…" Her face was a little red. "Just give me a sec…"

She walked behind a curtain she had.

Alright, while she's distracted putting the dress on, I can try to worm my way out of this rope.

Aaaaand…nope…and she's…not moving…I can still try…okay...I feel like I'm getting closer…And she's walking out.

"How do I look…?" She asked with a strange lack of emotion.

I noticed she looked uncomfortable. The witch outfit fit fine, but she just looked like she was bothered by something. She was frowning, not making eye-contact, and her hair tentacles went from static Octoling soldier curls to hanging straight down.

"You look great." I told her. "You-um…okay?"

"Can I take this off now?!" She shouted, clearly frustrated.

"S-sure…" I nodded my head.

She took the hat off and pulled the dress over her head and kicked off the shoes. She was wearing her fatigues underneath. She put her armor and boots back on without a word.

"You okay?" I was curious. "What was that about?"

"Don't wanna talk about it." She bluntly said. "…I'll be back…"

"You drinking again?" I guessed.

"Maybe." She answered. "What of it?"

"You snore when you're drunk." I replied. "Worse than usual."

"So I've been told." She typed on the keypad and left the room, locking the door. "I'll be back a little later…"

She must change the code every time she leaves since I've seen the sequences she types and punching them with my nose does nothing.

Okay, I think I was getting out of these binds and-nope, I just made another knot…

Geez, she's good with rope…

…There's also clearly more to her story than she told me at Ammo Knights…

 **The Rivers…**

"So many years of battle…" Callie monologued. "At this point, I know no other life. I have long thrown off my façade of a noble woman's life and accepted the life of a warrior…"

"Callie, we've only been here a couple days." Guyver said. "We haven't even had our first fight yet and you're already paining your face and making yourself look and act like a barbarian squid."

"I'm practicing for a movie role." Callie explained. "I was handed a script for a sword and sorcery movie and I figured what perfect time to get into character. I mean, something to ignore the impending doom part of the situation."

"At least save it until after we start fighting to the death." Guyver rolled his eyes.

"Ssshh!" Sarah shushed them both. "Someone's coming!"

Sure enough, some Cohocks came and unlocked the door. Though both Inklings and Octoling have splatted Cohocks before, they had their weapons taken away, so couldn't do much. They had no choice but to be led to the arena.

They were marched through the shallow water and boardwalks that qualified as streets until they reached a giant, round marble structure. It was definitely the arena. All around the structure were Goldies watching them from above. The Goldies, usually seen charging into the battlefield with frying pans like the other Salmonids, actually managed to strike a somewhat regal appearance as they were just standing there.

As they reached the inside of the arena, they looked around to see rows of seats packed with Salmonids clapping their fins together to the music of w-3. In one viewing area, the three could see Finnia waving at them.

"Alright," Sarah wanted to start with confidence. "Who's first?!"

A few seconds later, the crowd fell silent as w-3 stopped playing.

From the viewing area that Finnia was sitting at came a humanoid figure. He wore a tattered Steel set with a helmet that resembled a Salmonid's face. He also wore a cloth around him that was very similar to the ones the Goldies wore. The way he seemed respected and how Finnia was looking at him with excitement made it clear to the cephalopods that this figure was Papa.

He leaned over and spoke to Finnia.

"Pris-on-ers, sa-lute Papa the Terriable!" Finnia shouted. The way she struggled with some of the words must've meant she was repeating what Papa said to her.

"Papa can't talk to us himself?" Guyver asked.

Papa spoke to Finnia again.

"Papa say 'My words would be was…waste? Wasted. On those who haven…t…proved-en themselves." Finnia said with Papa helping her. "You fight, Papa talk."

"So who's first?" Sarah asked again.

As if in response, a Steelhead came out. Rather than its usual bomb, it had horns like a narwhal attached to it. It was clearly meant for charging at them.

"Uh…we get weapons, right?" Callie asked.

Sure enough, Some chums came out with weapons. There were pots, pans, and even sharp weapons. What was surprising to them is that there were a few splat bombs as well.

"Alright…" Callie said, grabbing a giant fork. "Let's cook this fish!"

"I have no idea how to use these though…" Sarah said, holding up a large skillet.

"We'll figure something out." Guyver shrugged as he grabbed a giant spatula.

The three then readied their weapons, preparing for a fight.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 **The Arena…Sarah's POV**

It was us vs. a large Cohock with spikes strapped to it. It readied to charge at us as we readied our weapons.

It rushed forward with inkredible speed. We all dove out of the way as it collided with the wall. It had to shake its head a bit before turning around to face us again. I ran up and smacked it with my skillet to no effect. It stood up as high as it could before letting itself fall down in my direction. I dove out of the way just in time. I started smacking it in the face and it seemed to actually be affecting it before it swung itself in my direction, knocking me away.

Guyver quickly helped me up. We could tell a few things from our fight so far. It doesn't seem like it can easily stop when it charges and gets dazed when it hits something, it has a slam-down attack that takes a bit of time to charge up, and it can side-swipe while it's lying down, but not much else.

We ran to the other end of the arena and begged the Steelhead to come our way. It obliged us and charged forward. We dodged out of the way and it hit the wall. Callie used that opportunity to take out one of its eyes. Callie immediately ran off yelling about how gross that was as the beast started thrashing about.

The large Salmonid then turned around to face where Callie was going when Guyver caught one of its spiked in his spatula and pulled its head the other way. I then used the spatula as a platform to get on top of its head and started smacking its face with my skillet.

The Steelhead then raised itself up and shook its head around, flinging Guyver off. I managed to grab onto one of its spikes to stay on and kept hitting its head. What I didn't expect was it to fall backwards.

I fell to the ground, raised the skillet, and turned into squid form. It fell on top of me. It wasn't heavy enough to kill me, but I could barely breathe. Eventually though, it rolled over. I noticed Guyver was the one moving it. I smiled. My smile turned into a gasp when I saw the skillet had a huge pointed dent in it.

"I hath slain this foul beast!" Callie was yelling as she held the giant fork in the air.

Despite the fact that we killed a Salmonid, the audience was applauding.

"So now what?" I asked.

"The next fight, I suppose." Guyver answered as he helped me up.

We all looked at 'Papa' to see what he'd do next.

He clapped and spoke to Finnia. It was now that we noticed that more Salmonlings have gathered around him.

"Imp-ress…iave!" Finnia said. ""You have…sssslain…the…the what? I no say that! Uh…Spi-cool-ees! I…uh…will grand-t you a mom-ent of rest. You may pick a new wee-pon. I do more good!"

Finnia then got a pat on the head.

"Oh, you get food too!" Finnia added.

Sure enough, some Chums came out with small buckets full of random stuff we couldn't identify.

"Uuuhhh…" I looked up at Finnia. "What is this?"

"Food!" She answered. "Papa love!"

This is food?

It's cooked, right?

Is that an eyeball?!

I think I'm gonna throw up…

 **Octo Canyon…Mei's POV**

It was getting late, so we returned to the Cabin after another day of not finding Arnold. Cassandra must be getting outside help on this one since Marina keeps finding her on camera feed, but she always seems to be out of the area when we get there. We found Marina still on her laptop with that Salmonling named Terry next to her.

"Hello octopus!" Terry waved. "Hello scary squid!"

"Don't talk to me." Beth said.

"Hello, Terry!" I tried to be nice. "Don't mind Beth. She's just under a lot of stress."

"I am not minding the Beth." He assured me. "Just learning the fresh from Marina's toplap."

"Laptop." Marina corrected him. "And don't worry; I'm keeping camera feed tabbed."

"Don't bother." Beth shrugged. "We think she may have someone messing with the camera feed."

"May I hold the laptop?" Terry asked. "I am wanting to be learning the Splatting nets!"

"Later." Marina said. "Aaaand not with my laptop."

"Hey, anyone else notice his Inklish is slightly better than it used to be?" I asked.

"Oh yeah," Marina nodded her head. "He's been getting better since he's been here. He was eager to pick up new words. Now he's about as fluent as the average Octo Canyon refugee."

"More Octopus?" Terry's ears perked up. "They learn the fresh?"

"In the city." I told him.

"I want to be going to the city!" Terry said

"No." Beth denied him.

"But whyyyyyy?" Terry whined.

"Because a humanoid Salmonid would attract a lot of unnecessary attention." Beth explained.

"Octopuses are getting to go!" Terry pouted.

"…Actually…maybe he can…" Marina got an idea. "Octolings have gone almost completely unnoticed. Maybe we can pass terry off as one of the many species of fish in the city."

"But what about the plume-like Mohawk?" I asked.

"Just pass it off as a trendy style." Marina shrugged.

"And the no-shirt with Salmonid overalls?" Beth asked.

"Give him a sweatshirt or a coat for now." Marina shrugged.

"What if he tries to run?" Beth crossed her arms.

"Preeeety sure he'd just get lost in the city." I shrugged. Well, maybe we can give him something to keep him around us…"

"Hmmmm…Oh!" Marina got her phone out and started texting.

 **30 Minutes Later…**

An Inkling man came through the manhole.

"Not sure why you need these, but alright…" He handed Marina a box.

"Thanks, Gene!" Marina said as she took the box and handed him a bag of coins.

"No problem." Gene said as he left.

Marina then opened the box and put metal clamps on Terry's neck and arms.

"Modified house-arrest clamps!" Marina handed us a remote. "He strays more than 100 feet from whoever he's travelling with, he'll get shocked until he gets knocked out and we'll bring him back here."

"Terry behave!" Terry said, a bit scared. "Promise!"

"I'm sure you will." Marina said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "This is just a precaution. Now…who wants to take him to Inkopolis?"

"I'm not." Beth said. "It's getting late, I'm going back out on patrol in the morning, and all the beds are taken."

"Anyone in the Splatoon who can help, then?" Marina wondered.

"I think I know..." I said.

"Not to sound rude, but is this really a good idea?" Beth asked.

"Why not?" Marina asked. "Octolings got a fresh start in the city. Maybe it can be the same for Salmonlings too."

"I'm all for love and acceptance and all that mushy stuff," Beth assured her. "But I'm asking if it's okay to start with the one who's name means 'Biter'."

"Terry behave!" Terry repeated himself. "Terry no bite nice people. Terry only bite bad people.

"...Fine..." Beth gave up. "I wanna get to bed soon anyway. So who'd you have in mind, Mei?"

 **20 Minutes Later…Flounder Heights…**

 ***Knock* *Knock* *Knock***

"…Hello?" Otis answered the door.

"Hey, Otis!" I waved. "You have an extra bed in there, right?"

"Yeah," He nodded his head. "Why?"

Terry then immediately darted into Otis's apartment.

"Jumpin' Jellyfish!" The Cap'n shourted in surprise.

"What this?" Terry looked around. "What that?"

"He really wants to learn about Inkopolis and how to be fresh and we thought this'd be a good place for him to stay." I explained.

"I mean, I'm willing and I have room despite the Cap'n hanging here…" Otis remarked. "But couldn't you have called me first?"

"…Sorry…" I felt bad about that now…

"It's fine, I'm sure I'll figure out how to handle this…" Otis sighed. "Just…warn me next time, kay? I had a difficult time keeping calm after thinking my sister might've died for a couple days. I don't need any more stress."

I nodded my head as I handed him the remote. He quickly understood what it was.

"Well, Guess I-HEY! DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Otis quickly shut the door.

I could hear a lot of loud noises.

I just decided to get out of there.

Otis is a good guy.

He's skilled.

He's got this…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 **The Next Morning…Otis's POV**

I somehow managed to get the Salmonling to calm down and go to sleep last night. I also managed to fall asleep myself. Craig left early, wishing me luck. At the moment, I was getting breakfast. Terry kept watching me as I was making it though…

"What food are you doing the cooking on?" Terry asked.

"You can just say 'what are you making' or 'what's cooking,' you know." I told him.

"Oh…uh…what are you making?" He corrected himself.

"Eggs and toast." I said as I flipped an egg.

"EGGS?!" He started freaking out.

"Not Salmonid eggs." I specified. "We don't even eat Salmonids."

"Oh…Can I have eat?" He asked.

"Sure, I'll make ya some." I then got more from the fridge.

He watched the entire process of what I did. From cracking the eggs, to frying them, to toasting and buttering the bread.

"Enjoy." I handed his plate and some orange juice at the table.

He reached his hand out to grab it, but I stopped him.

"Silverware." I glared at him.

"Oh!" He then grabbed the knife and fork and actually used them well…

"I actually thought you'd have no idea how to use those…" I remarked.

"Salmonids do the fighting with Kitchen stuff all time." Terry told me. "Also I no Savage."

"And yet you bit my girlfriend." I reminded him.

"O-K, mostly savage…" He admitted. "I am not knowing of the Ink-police too good."

"Inkopolis." I corrected him. "Well, I guess I can show you around. Just stay close."

He immediately flinched and looked at the clamps he wore.

"I'm not going to shock you." I rolled my eyes. "That's not even how this thing works. I can't press a button to shock you. You get shocked if you stray too far away."

"Yes…" He nodded his head. "So can you be showing me so I can start being the fresh?"

"Sure." He agreed. "Let's just hope no one can tell you're a Salmonid."

Terry then did a nervous gulp.

 **30 Minutes Later…**

Well, so far so good. People just seem to assume he's one of the many species of fish that live in Inkopolis.

"Woooaaah…"Terry was amazed by the sights.

"Yeah, it's a lot to take in your first time." I said. "You get used to it quickly though."

"What that?" He pointed to Deca Tower.

"That's Deca Tower." I told him. "People go there for Ink Battles."

"Can I do the battling?" Terry got wide-eyed.

"Unfortunately it's just Inklings." I had to tell him.

"Octopuses get go in…" He groaned.

"Because everyone thinks they're Inklings and we prefer to keep it that way for now." I explained. "Most fish can't use ink and we aren't even sure if respawning systems would work for you. Inklings and Octarians are similar enough and both have their own respawning systems, but I'm not sure about Salmonids."

"Hmph…" He looked disappointed.

"Maybe something can be worked out later, but it can't be helped for now." I shrugged.

"What that?" He pointed next to it.

"That's Grizzco." I told him.

"Bear!" He started getting scared.

"Bear won't hurt you." I told him. "They don't hurt people here. It's just a building where people go to work in the city. Bad stuff for you happens elsewhere."

He stared at the building like he was thinking of doing something dangerous.

"Soooo, how about some fresh clothes?" I wanted to change the subject.

"Fresh!" He got excited.

Oh thank Cod that worked…

 **Two Hours Later…Headspace.**

It was really interesting hanging with Terry. I don't know if it's because he's new to the city, the concept of freshness, Inkling society, or both, but he treats everything like it's the coolest thing he's ever seen and acts like a squidkid in a candy store.

He came out with whatever clothes he really liked within a budget I set for him. At the moment, he was trying on a hat.

"Fresh, right?" He asked.

"Yeah…" I nodded my head. "You've got an eye for style."

He then made what I could only describe as excited Salmon noises. It…actually sounded a kinda bad. I ended up covering my ears because it did not sound good.

"It's always great to see a little Inkfish so rich in spirit." Flow admired. "I just love his aura…"

Good for you…

 **The Arena…Guyver's POV**

Another day of fighting. At this point I think they were just testing stuff they want to put in Salmon Runs since we were fighting a Boss Salmonid that was six Steel Eels attached to a single point. The Pilot did not look happy piloting this monstrosity and was easily taken out with some Splat Bombs lobbed at him.

"Are we done yet?" I asked in the direction of Papa. "This is kinda getting old."

"…Very well…" Papa…actually spoke.

He then stood up.

" _Throw them_ …" We braced for another fight. "A **FEAST**!"

The crowd roared in applause.

Was that a joke?

Apparently not since a bunch of Salmonids came in, grabbed us, and took us to an area with a large table. About 20 minutes later, food came out. Papa, Finnia, and a few other Salmonlings sat at the table.

"Have some…" Papa said as the food was set in front of us.

We still couldn't identify what the food was.

"HAVE _SOME_!" Papa shouted. "I _MADE IT_ **MYSELF!** "

"W-what's in it?" Callie asked.

"What's _in it_?" He looked at Callie. "I _made this_ in HOSPITALITY…and _you_ ask…what's… _in it_?"

Callie seemed to regret her choice of words as Papa stood up.

"…I _have no_ idea…" Papa admitted. "It was _random stuff_ I threw TOGETHER…"

His helmet opened up slightly. We couldn't see his face but it was enough for him to eat. He took some of the food and ate some.

"DELICIOUS!" He shouted. "Try it…"

We actually tried some. It wasn't awful…wasn't good either.

"So-um great and mighty Papa…can I ask you something?" Callie leaned over a bit. "A little help-me-out?"

"Sure…" Papa then got up and walked over. "What do you _require?_ A weapon, more food… _comfort?_ "

The way he was leaning over Callie was definitely sending her some signals.

"I have a boyfriend." Callie told him.

"Right…" Papa sighed as he returned to his seat. "…Well, **WHAT IS IT**?"

"Have you seen the Octarian king?" Callie asked.

"Large Octopus?" He asked. "Kabuto, _music_ , **WASABI?!** "

"Y-yes!" Callie was excited and nervous.

"Haven't seen **him** in quite some time…" Papa remarked. "Something about a **ZAPFISH** _some time ago_ …"

"So he's not here?" Callie wanted clarification.

"No." Papa answered.

So this whole trip was a bust.

"Last _Octoling_ I saw was the **black haired** man. Zurg? _Seye?_ " He struggled with the name.

"Sieg…" Sarah said.

"Yes…" He nodded his head. " _Him_ and his **beautiful** _Captain who_ kept her **_distance_** …"

"Cassandra…" I said.

Papa was strangely silent.

"Papa, eat food?" Finnia asked.

"Ah…yes…right, sorry, Small Fin…" Papa apologized.

"Just Finnia." Finnia said. "Simpler name. They give!"

"Ah…" Papa was intrigued. "You like this name?"

Finnia nodded her head.

"Thank you for giving her a name she likes…" Papa actually thanked us. "I like you."

"Oh, one name Biter name Terry now!" Finnia added.

"Terry…" Papa laid back. "I like it…does he like it?"

Finnia nodded again.

"Where is Terry now?" Papa asked.

Oh no.

"They still have." Finnia told him.

"Have…Terry?" Papa was confused.

"Squids and Octopus catch Terry and Finnia." Finnia explained. "Have Finnia lead to Rivers. Still have Terry."

Papa then looked at us.

Oh, here it comes…

"I _no longer_ like you." Papa stood up. "Put _them_ with the _**OTHERS**_!"

Before we could react, the Salmonids surrounded and grabbed us.

I knew the friendliness had to end sometime…


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 **Sarah's POV**

Great…

We were in Papa's good graces for a bit, but now we're being shoved somewhere else in the arena. The area was made of several corridors. The arena dungeons, maybe?

Whatever it was, they shoved us in and closed the door.

"You will be _**HERE**_ until I'm _ready_ to LEAVE." Papa told us. "Then _one_ of YOU will **LEAD** me to my _boy_."

"Look, we're sorry we squidnapped two Salmonlings, but we didn't hurt them at all." I told him. Heck, we actually treated them well. Just let us go and we'll let him go."

"I **will** NOT be _defied_!" He glared at me. " _Squids_ will **NOT** order me! We do it **MY WAY**! I will _have my_ **son** back…but _we do_ it _my way_ … _comply_ …and you _will_ _ **live**_ …"

He then left with the other Salmonids.

"Geez, the way that guy talks, you'd swear he thinks he's divine." Callie groaned.

"He does." A voice in the room said.

We all turned to see an Octoling sharpening a knife in a corner.

"And you are?" Guyver asked.

"Jade." She introduced herself. "Welcome to the Pit. It's where aaaall the gladiators hang out."

"There are others?!" Callie gasped. "How many?!"

"We don't keep count." Jade shrugged. "It's come and go around here. My last count was around 25."

"And they have you fight to the death, don't they?" I guessed.

"Yup." Jade nodded her head. "You get used to it."

"You make friends, but you don't get attached." An Inkling gladiator said.

"How'd you get here?" I asked Jade.

"I was helping my squadmate Harold find my captain's sisters, got separated, one thing led to another, and I ended up here." Jade summarized. "No idea what happened to Harold or my captain. Hopefully they're okay, but that wouldn't be life, now would it?"

Oh Cod…

"And you?" I asked the Inkling guy.

"I saw an online ad for a new place called…Grizzco, I think." He answered. "I was told I'd just be collecting eggs, but I got attacked by Salmonids and ended up here. I hope whoever those guys were are behind bars."

"You must've been in an early Salmon Run shift." I guessed.

"Salmon Run?" He was confused.

"It's how a lot of Inklings in the city make money these days." I told him. "A lot of Inklings have jobs at Grizzco."

"Seriously?!" He couldn't believe it. "How'd they not get sued?!"

"Was probably covered up." Callie guessed. "As popular as Grizzco is, it's pretty shady."

"If I somehow get out of here, there'll be shell to pay…" He grumbled. "…Who am I kidding? I'll die here…"

Oh Cod!

"Can't you just bust out?" Guyver asked.

"We probably could…" She nodded her head. "But where would we go? This place is on an island in a restricted part of the ocean. No boats come here and Salmonids swim where they want to go so no boats, not that we'd get far anyway. We could try taking a Mothership, but we'd get caught by the Octarians in the steel buildings."

"…What if you had access to an Octarian Flying Saucer?" Guyver asked.

They both seemed intrigued by that.

"Go on…" Jade leaned forward. "I'm listening…"

 **Later…**

We managed to work out a plan with the other gladiators. We'd radio Marina, have Callie charm Papa and knock him out when he's distracted, and break out.

"-And then we'll rush to the forest and get on the Saucer that will be waiting for us!" Callie finished.

"Careful though…" That Inkling gladiator whose name we learned is Erin warned. "Papa is just about one of the deadliest fighters you'll ever meet. He made a policy of anyone who can slay him goes free and killed at least 7 people last time I counted. He makes us watch those fights so we can 'make it more interesting' next time."

"What is his deal, anyway?" I asked. "Jade, you said he thinks he's divine?"

"It's in a book written by some Chum." She told me. "An epic tale written about a creature the Salmonids called the Terror."

"What do you know about it?" Guyver asked.

"The book said the Terror was a ruthless fighting machine that ended many Salmonids." She explained. "It terrorized these parts for two years before Big Mama ended him 5 years ago."

"And Big Mama is…?" I was hesitant to know.

"Oh, I've seen pictures." Guyver said. "Big Mama is a kind of Salmonid that comes once in several lifetimes. One as big as Deca Tower that is is hyped up to be the one to lead the charge as the Salmonids devour all creatures of the land like in the Book of Madai, chapter 10, verse 10."

Oh no…

"Yeah, but she got splatted." Jade told us as she looked in the book she mentioned. "She died taking the Terror down. The terror went for one final attack as Big Mama was going to devour him. He went in her mouth and Big Mama exploded. Green Salmonid goop flying everywhere. There's even an illustration."

Crisis averted then…

"But all is not lost for Salmon kind." Jade read from the book. "For of Mama's death came a rebirth. It was a being that resembled the terror, but smelled like Mama. He seemed to have no memory of his past life as a towering fish, but the Salmon-children came to like him and he now leads our tribe as Papa the Terrible, the strongest fighter. One day we hope to restore his memories so we may achieve or destiny and fight the fight to end all fights."

Jade then closed the book.

"I'm guessing Papa isn't Mama?" I figured.

"They think he is though." Jade remarked. "At least the fish Salmonids do. I think some of the Salmonlings might have suspicions that he isn't, but they don't care. From what I've heard, he's one of the few who shows them kindness and compassion. Most other Salmonids often show them passive aggressiveness and hostility while the Octarians mostly show indifference, so they probably just like having him around."

"So who was the Terror?" Callie wondered.

"Heck if we know." Erin shrugged. "Some poor guy who ended up in Salmonid territory around 7 years ago. Regardless of who he was, who he is now is a total savage who kills for sport and makes us do the same."

As if on cue, we could hear the doors being opened. It was Papa. He came in with a large group of Salmonids.

"Now…" Papa spoke. " _Take_ me to **my** son…"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 **Earlier…Otis's POV**

I was showing Terry more of the city and managed to run into Sam and Damien. Zoey was hanging with them again. Specifically Damien.

"So Otis, who's your friend?" Sam asked.

"The name that is belonging to me is Terry." Terry introduced himself. "The Otis is teaching me the fresh!"

Sam then looked at me.

"He's foreign." Otis told her.

"Ah…" She nodded her head. "Yeah, it's good to have a guide if you're new. I've been a guide more than a few times."

"I like his hair!" Zoey pointed at it and tugged Damien's shoulder. "Isn't it nice?"

"Y-yeah, it is…" Damien nervously replied. "I-uh…I'm gonna get a soda…"

"Me too!" Zoey said. "I'm thirsty!"

Yeah she is…

They then walked off to get something from the Crust Bucket.

"I can't tell if he's oblivious or not…" Sam remarked.

"So are you okay with that?" I asked her.

"As long as she doesn't violate him." Sam shrugged. "Bro has no game, so maybe a girl randomly deciding to go for him is a good thing. Or maybe she'll make him crack. I'm staying close just in case."

"Terry liking seeing the friendliness!" Terry smiled. "You think we be that good friends, Otis?"

Eeeuugh…

"What Zoey is attempting with Damien is…different." I told him. "I'll explain some other time…"

Said people then came back with ice cream. Damien had a cone and Zoey had a sundae in a plastic bowl.

"Vending machine was empty." Damien told us. "Heat today must get people craving Tenta Colas."

"But we got ice cream." Zoey shyly said before raising it in the air. "It is the Ultimate Sundae AND I LOVE IT!"

Her praise of the treat was ended then a large bird stole it and flew off.

"GIVE THAT BACK YOU STUPID BIRD!" Zoey yelled before falling to her knees. "I didn't even get to try it…everything in my life goes horribly wrong…"

Damien looked at her, then at us, then back at her.

"Uh…h-here…have m-mine." Damien handed his cone over, avoiding eye-contact.

Zoey looked up at him before taking it and standing up. Her face was very red.

"Th…thank you…" Zoey then kissed Damien's cheek and ran off.

Damien, with a shocked expression, rubbed his cheek as she left.

"D-d-do…um…d-do you g-guys think she likes m-me…?" Damien asked.

Definitely oblivious.

"You should be doing the hanging around her more." Terry suggested. "She seems to be liking being around you."

Damien's face got red at that suggestion.

"Damien," I put a hand on his shoulder. "I can't read her mind, but if you want to find out, spend some time with her. If anything, she'll enjoy the company."

"Y-y-you're r-right!" Damien nodded his head. "I'll uh…see if she-uh…wants to…play chess?"

Damien…Cod…dammit…

"Go for it." Sam shrugged. "What've you got to lose?"

Damien nodded and walked off.

"I'll try to make sure he doesn't screw up." Sam told me before leaving.

Honestly, if what I've heard of Zoey is true, Damien has a very low chance of messing up.

 **20 Minutes Later…Flounder Heights…**

Decided to head home after that. Not much else to do

"Other squids are…friendly…" Terry said. "Ter…I am being surprised when I am staying in the city…"

"Inklings aren't horrible monsters." I told him. "We're just trying to live in the world, same as you."

"Hm…hmmmmm…" Terry seemed to be thinking. "Maybe I can be going out and showing Finnia the sights. She's nice. She'd like."

"How'd you meet her?" I was curious.

"I was doing the swim in the water." Terry started explaining. "I bumped into Finnia and she tapped on my head and she did say 'tag!' We then did the swim for while before her nose smelled something good. She did the chase on it out of the water, I did the follow, and we get caught."

Oh…so he only met her that day…

"I'm…sure she'd love to see you again." I told him.

He nodded excitedly.

"Oh, hello 4.5!" Cuttlefish just came in from the other room. "I was takin' a nap and noticed you came in. I should probably check on the-Yyyyyyuck! What's that smell?!"

I started sniffing the air and-yup, it was Terry. I must not have noticed since I was hanging with him and the smells of the city must've drowned his smell out when we were touring.

"He'll take bath." I said.

"Right." Cap nodded. "I'm gonna check with the other agents."

He then took his leave.

"What bath?" Terry asked.

Great…I'll have to help him…

 **15 Minutes Later…**

"Just keep scrubbing all over and use the shampoo and conditioner on you hair." I told him as I left the bathroom. "Then use the towel to dry off. I'll put these clothes in the wash."

"Okay!" Terry replied. "Scrub-a-dub-dub!"

I sighed and sat on the couch for a minute.

"This goop smells nice to my nose!" Terry shouted.

I then heard a knock on the door.

I walked over and opened the door to find Mei.

"Can I come in?" She asked.

"Sure." I let her in. "What's up?

"It's…Beth…" She sighed as she sat on the couch. "The stuff with Arnold is getting to her. She's getting more frustrated, less talkative, and she's even started pulling over random Octarians to interrogate them. I just don't know what to do…"

"Did you try talking to her?" I asked.

"A little…" She said. "She never seems in the mood to talk…"

"Maybe I can help." I suggested.

"Won't you just make her angrier?" She tilted her head. "You two don't exactly get along."

"Clearly you need backup." I told her. "Also you guys want us to get along. What better way than trying to calm her down?"

"I…guess that could work…" She agreed. "Okay, we'll try it!

Mei then looked around.

"Where's the Salmonling, anyway?" She asked.

"Otis teached me how to do the bathing!" Terry said, walking out of the bathroom with a towel on his head and…oh dear…don't look at it, don't look at it, don't look at it…

"Well that's uuuuuuuuuuuhhhhh…" And Mei noticed it too…

"Terry…" I sighed. "Go to your room and put some clothes on…you need to stay decent in Inkopolis…"

"Oh, sorry!" He then walked to his room and shut the door.

…Damn it, I looked…

"…You can stop drooling, Mei." I told her.

"D-drooling?" She snapped back to reality. "I wasn't drooling!"

I glared at her and she wiped her mouth, noticing I was right.

"S-sorry," She sighed. "But it's like the Splatfest board! I can't not look at it!"

"You and Guyver are both pervs." I smirked.

"Heh…yeah…a little…" She nodded her head. "Honestly, we were probably worse back home. The private conversations we'd have were not meant for children's ears."

"I'm sure you'll have them again." I told her. "He'll be back from the Rivers before you know it! Sarah and Callie too!"

"Yeah!" She got excited. "There's no way Salmonids can splat them!"

"You think Finnia will also be coming here with them?" Terry asked as he came out of his room, fully clothed this time.

"Probably." I shrugged. "If she wants to catch up to your freshness, she will."

"Yes!" Terry got excited. "To be not lying, I hope to be seeing another Salmonling. It feels like it was being so long. Doing the swim with them and all."

"What's it like?" Mei asked. "Swimming?"

"Fun I guess…" He replied. "I swim down into caves and find fishies and eat fishies, I swim into the sinked boats, I swim down, then I swim up really fast and I jump out of water. It…free, I guess…"

Wow…when you describe it like that…man, I really wish we could still swim…

"Oh, can you show me your shifted form?" Mei asked. "I…heh…actually thought Salmonlings were mermaids at first."

"…Which?" Terry asked.

"What do you mean?" Mei was confused.

"Salmonling have two shifting forms." Terry said. "One for water swim, one for Ink swim."

"So water form is…?" I was curious to know.

His feet then shifted into a tail. It's a good thing clothes can shift with us, or Mei would probably be drooling again.

"Well, I can see the mermaid confusion." I remarked.

"What's your ink swimming form?" Mei wondered.

Terry then shifted into an unnerving form that looked kind of like a Chum, but lying on the ground, all green, and having ink coming off just like our shifted forms. Terry then looked at me with those beady eyes and teeth…

Yep, I'm definitely going to have nightmares tonight…


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 **The Pit…Sarah's POV**

Papa had returned. Okay Callie, work your magic.

"Hi Papa." Callie walked over. "Can I um…talk to you for a sec?"

Papa seemed confused, but walked over to her. She pulled him down a corridor just within earshot.

"I-uh…think I could use that…comfort you offered…" Callie told him. "After everything that's happened…"

" **But** _you have_ someone." Papa remembered. "You said so _yourself_."

"It's just…we've been drifting apart…" She lied. "He's been so busy and I can't take it anymore…"

"Talk to him." Papa told her. "If he cares about you, he will listen. You _may get that_ chance if you **cooperate** …"

Papa then walked back this way.

That didn't work…need a new plan…

"Papa," Guyver got his attention. "We have a request."

"What _request_?" Papa tilted his head.

"We'll get you Terry back IF you set these people free." Guyver said.

"If **you** _don't do it willingly_ , I will make you." Papa said. "Those _who take my_ children don't **make** demands _of me_. The others _go free if_ they can **strike me** down."

Wait…

"How about I fight you then?" I suggested. "I'll fight you and they go free?"

Everyone was looking at me when I suggested that.

" **Are** you _certain, little_ squid?" Papa asked. "I fight _to the_ death…and I've **never** lost…"

"I know." I crossed my arms. "So how about it?"

"Heh… _heh heh heh_ …" Papa seemed amused. "Alright… **I'll give you** time to prepare _yourself_ …"

He then took his leave. I noticed Finnia in the group of Salmonids with a worried expression. She left with the rest of the Salmonids without a word.

"Sarah…um…WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Guyver started freaking out.

"Bluffing." I answered. "Apparently Papa's too noble to be the other guy in Callie's relationship, so I figured this'd be the perfect distraction."

"Because all of the gladiators would be watching the fight." Callie realized. "We'd already be outside and would just have to get the Saucer at just the right time…I'll radio Marina!

Callie started calling Marina through her headset. Guyver then walked towards me.

"Please be careful, Sarah." He sighed. "I'd really hate it if anything bad happened to you."

"I'll be fine." I assured him. "I can handle it."

"Oh, I know you can." He assured me. "I'm just letting you know."

 **Two Hour Later…**

It was all set up.

Me vs. Papa.

I was given a large fork while he held a Trident. Similar enough, I guess…

He stuck his trident in the ground, dropped the upper parts of his armor, the shirt because why not, and…okay, so he's ripped...Still kept the helmet though…

He seemed to be waiting for something…oh…

I took my agent's jacket off. Well, I still have this chestplate that barely protects anything.

Papa tilted his head.

"What?" I called out. "It's technically armor, but girl has to keep her modesty, doesn't she?"

His head nodded a bit as if he was chuckling a bit.

He then took a battle stance.

I took one too.

"It doesn't have to be this way." I told him. "We can both go away alive, with prisoners freed, and you with Terry back."

"You _accepted the_ rules." Papa said. " **My** rules. You **cannot back out**. My _will shall not be_ defied!"

I looked over at where the gladiators were seated. Most were watching in anticipation for what would happen next while Callie and Guyver had worried expressions on their faces. I gave them a confident 'I've got this' nod and returned my attention to my opponent.

"Fine…" I replied. "But what happens next is on you."

He remained where he was, clearly wanting me to attack him first.

I obliged him with a quick swipe at his feet that he easily blocked. I then made another swipe at his hands that he dodged. He then knocked me back.

" _You won't kill me_ with those strikes." Papa taunted.

"Because I'm not trying to kill you!" I replied.

"Ah, **you wish** to _disarm me_ …" Papa then set his Trident down. " _You'll find I'm still_ dangerous without my **weapon** …"

I decided to drop my weapon too and put my fists up.

I ran up and threw a punch, but he easily blocked it, grabbed me, and slammed me on the ground.

" **Fighting** a larger, stronger, much more skilled _opponent in unarmed_ combat…" Papa remarked. "Not… **the** _smartest strategy_ …in **fact** it was _very stupid_ …"

He wasn't wrong.

"Sorry **to say** , but your _life ends here_." He told me as he grabbed me and picked me up. "A _nice effort_ though…I'll **remember** you… _maybe_..."

He carried me over to where his trident was, picked it up, and…stopped.

We could all hear a sound.

Papa and I looked up to see the Flying Saucer hovering over us.

"What **are they** doing _here_?" Papa was confused.

I then swung my foot back, then quickly forward, right between his legs.

The impact made him drop me and fall to his knees.

"NOW!" I called out as I turned into a squid and Super jumped onto the Saucer.

Callie, Guyver, and all of the Inkling and Octoling gladiators immediately did the same and entered the saucer from an opening in the top.

"Ha!" I chuckled. "Went off without a hitch!"

Before I could enter the Saucer, a dark green thing flew through the air and landed on the Saucer

Wait…that pointed head…those tentacles…

It shifted forms and readied its Trident.

" _YOU HAVE_ **DEFIED** ME!" It shouted. " _No one_. **NO ONE!** IS GETTING OUT OF _HERE_ _ **ALIVE**_ _!_ "

Oh Cod…

Not only is he not a Salmonid...

Papa's an Inkling…

"You're an Inkling!" I shouted.

" **Hm**?" He seemed surprised by what I said. "Oh, _you misunderstand_ …I was **reborn in this** form after I _destroyed_ the Terror."

"You actually believe that?!" I glared at him. "Since when does a Salmonid as tall as Deca Tower turn into a normal sized Inkling?!"

"What are _you implying_?" He was confused.

"You didn't kill the Terror." I told him. "You are the Terror!"

He seemed to stop when I said that.

Uh…

He then started shaking and holding his head.

"Are…um…hello?" I tried getting his attention.

He was mumbling something.

"Lies of a **squid…lies** of a squid…lies **of a squid** lies _of a squid_ lies of a _**squid-**_ " He kept repeating.

"G-guys?" I called into the saucer.

"LIES OF A SQUID!" He charged at me with the Trident in hand.

I had no weapons…I was-

"I'm back!" Callie shouted as she jumped out with a Roller in-hand.

Before Papa could react, the Roller smacked him, sending him flying off of the Saucer.

"Now will you get in already?" Callie asked. "We're waiting for you."

"Y-yeah…" I followed her in.

I sat down on the floor. Guyver sat next to me.

"Well, that worked out." Guyver remarked. "Just…try not to scare me like that."

"I'll try." I said, leaning on him.

"You-uh…want a jacket?" He asked. "I mean, I don't mind you showing off what ya got, but it's a little chilly in this Saucer."

"Aw man," I groaned. "I left my jacket!"

"It's fine." He shrugged.

"No it's not!" I whined. "Marie gave it to me…"

"I'm sure she cares more about you than the jacket." He assured me.

"Yeah…" I nodded. "It's still a little chilly though…"

"Callie, can Sarah borrow your pink Jacket?" Guyver asked.

He then caught the jacket after Callie threw it over and put it around me.

"So where're we going?" Jade asked.

"Inkopolis!" Callie answered. "Home, sweet home!"

"Inkopolis huh?" Jade tilted her head. "Will they accept Octolings?"

"They won't even know you're Octolings." Guyver told her.

"Well, that's good…" Jade sighed. "So…is my Squad Leader there?"

"What's her name?" Guyver asked.

"Clair." Jade answered. "She's part of a group of Elite siblings."

"Oh, we know her." I told her. "She works at a music store."

"Well, it's good to know she made it." Jade then took something off. "Give her these for me."

I caught what she threw. They were military dogtags.

"You don't wanna give them yourself?" I was confused.

"She'll understand." Jade remarked. "I've never been one for mushy reunions. I'll find my own place in the city."

I guess that makes sense…from an Octarian point of view…to me, it doesn't make any sense...

"What about Harold and Clair's sisters?" Jade wondered.

"Clair's sisters are mindless zombified drones in an ancient testing facility and we have no idea who Harold is." Guyver told her.

"Huh…" Jade seemed to be thinking. "I hope that softy didn't get himself killed…"

Suddenly, we felt a bumb on the ship…then another…

We looked out the window to see Salmonid Motherships bumping into us.

Of course we wouldn't be in the clear just yet…

"Crank up the Speed, Marina!" Callie shouted into her headset.

We started to fly faster. However, the Motherships started flying faster as well. They weren't bumping into us anymore, but they were on our tail.

We just need to find a way to shake them off…


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

 **Salmonid Smokeyard…Another POV**

Time was running out and only one of us was un-splatted.

"Hurry Denise!" I shouted.

Denise went as fast as she could.

Seconds left.

Aaaaaand…YES!

Just met quota!

The rest of us quickly respawned with different weapons.

"Well, at least we won't get a pay cut." Mia shrugged.

The sky was dark. It was low-tide, so we headed down to the shore

"Alright, what's next?" Oscar wondered.

"You've got a Mothership down by the shore." Mr. Grizz told us. "You guys might want to cooperate if you want to survive."

Yup, a Mothership…uh…what the?

There were three Motherships constantly bumping into a Flying Saucer. Chinooks kept landing on it and damaging it.

"Uh…that's not normal…" Mia remarked.

"No…It's not…" I agreed. "Weapons ready! That thing's going down!

The Saucer went down, sliding on the ground until it hit the basket.

The Motherships hovered in place, possibly waiting for something to happen.

Well, so much for collecting eggs…

The top of the Saucer opened up, releasing smoke. The three of us aimed our weapons.

A figure was walking out of the smoke…it was…a yellow-haired Inkling…

"Who…are you?" I asked.

"Wait…" Denise looked at her. "I remember her!"

"You do?" I was surprised.

"Yeah, from the Tournament!" She told me. "That's Sarah! She was on Sylvia's team!"

"Hey-uh…can you help us?" Sarah asked. "We're kind of in a little trouble here…"

"Us?" I looked to see other cephalopods coming out of the wrecked aircraft.

A lot of Inklings and…Octolings?!

I readied my Blaster.

"Guys, we aren't the enemy!" An Inkling called out.

It was…Callie?!

I glared at her.

She noticed me and sighed.

"...Hi Greg…" Callie said.

"...Hello Agent 1…" I replied.

 **Guyver's POV**

"Wait, you two know each other?" I asked.

Greg just glared at me without a word.

"It's a long story…" Callie told me. "…And one that'll have to wait!"

Chinooks started raining down. Luckily, there were weapons on the Saucer.

"Ready up, Defenders!" Greg shouted and his squadmates readied their weapons.

"Gladiators!" Callie shouted towards them. "Change your Ink colors to these Defenders so you don't get Splatted!"

The gladiators quickly changed their Ink colors to the orange that the Salmon Running Defenders had. We did as well.

Chinooks came down with their usual large crates.

"What do we do?!" Erin didn't know.

"Shoot the Chinooks!" Sarah shouted. "Bust as many of those crates as you can before more Salmonids pop out!"

The gladiators did just that. A few popped open with Salmonids, but they weren't too hard. What helped was we weren't collecting Eggs now.

I could see Jade making effective use of one of the Octoshots that was in the saucer.

Erin, shell, all of the gladiators seemed to be having the time of their lives splatting the Salmonids that kept them imprisoned.

The Defenders, despite Sylvia speaking highly of the group, seemed to not like the fact that Octolings were here…Greg especially…

Callie would sometimes shout at them to work together for now.

Eventually though, the Chinooks stopped coming, but the Motherships were still there.

It went unnervingly quiet.

Then, atop one of the Motherships, was Papa himself. He was fully armed, armored, and clearly pissed.

"Okay, who's that guy?" Denise asked.

"They call him Papa." Sarah answered. "He leads a Salmonid tribe in a place called the Rivers."

"And why's he here?" Greg asked.

"We squidnapped two of his surrogate children to find the Rivers." I explained. "He's mad at us for taking them and freeing his gladiators."

"Your idea?" He asked.

"My cousin's actually." I corrected him.

"Leave it to an Octoling to make things worse…" Greg groaned.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I glared at him.

"Not now!" Callie shouted. "He's about to do something!"

He opened his helmet slightly and raised a horn. We then noticed Goldies on the other ships raise their horns. At Papa's lead, they all sounded the familiar horns or Salmon runs.

"Which way are they coming from?" Greg asked as everyone started looking around.

I then noticed ripples in the water.

"Over here!" I heard a voice say before I could speak.

"No, here!" Another person shouted.

"They're coming from all sides!" Sarah noticed.

The ripples were circling around the Smokeyard.

"What…are those?" Denise asked Callie.

"Salmonlings!" Callie shouted.

Immediately after she said that, they started jumping out of the water with Ink weapons in-hand.

We all started firing.

I saw one of the gladiators get splatted out of the corner of my eye. I turned his way and noticed something…

"Guys, watch out!" I shouted. "We aren't connected to any respawn points!"

All the gladiators immediately fell back towards the higher ground when they heard that.

"Greg!" Callie shouted. "You and your team can respawn! You're our lifeline!"

"Ergh…right!" He then charged forward and managed to splat one.

I noticed then the Salmonling had a little ghost that resembled the figures in the Golden Eggs fly up towards one of the Motherships. Great, they can respawn…

It wasn't long until that Salmonling was back in action.

"Mr. Grizz!" Greg shouted into an earpiece. "We're fighting humanoid Salmonids! What do we do?!"

There was no response.

"MR Grizz?!" He wanted a response.

" **Takin' a Smallfry home may seem like a good idea, but trust me, it isn't."** We heard an automated reply say.

"Callie, we need to think of something!" I told her. "They can respawn and most of us can't!"

Callie looked around for a bit, and then got an idea.

"Greg!" She shouted to him again. "Keep the Salmonlings at bay! Gladiators, Superjump to the Grizzco boat!"

The gladiators started jumping one by one as the Splatoon and Defenders held off the Salmonlings. It wasn't easy. These guys can shoot from one side, hop in the water, and quickly flank from another side. Plus side is it seems they can't hold as much ink as Inklings and Octolings can since they were diving in ink a lot more often than we were.

"Guys," Jade pointed. "Some are swimming for the boat!"

"Great, what do we do now?" I asked.

"Oh!" Denise then pulled out a Sting Ray and aimed it towards the center Mothership. "He looks important!"

She then fired the Sting Ray right at Papa. He noticed and dodged, then Superjumped through the air until he was over us and prepared for a-

"Splashdown!" I shouted.

Everyone not on the boat quickly scrambled to get out of the way, but we all ended up getting knocked back by the impact.

 **Sarah's POV**

Ugh…can barely move…I hope no one got Splatted in that…

Yeah, about three gladiators…aw splat it…

I could see Papa with his Trident and a harpoon gun on his back. He turned to face me and started walking my way only to be hit by a few Ink shots from behind.

"Get up, Sarah!" Jade shouted before a harpoon hit her shoulder, pinning her to a wall. She was struggling to get it out.

I'm…trying…to get up…

I then noticed Greg had gotten up.

"Greg!" I called out. "Jade…needs your help!"

He just stood there, catching his breathe.

"Greg, do something!" I shouted.

He turned his head towards Jade, then turned to fire at one of his teammates' life preservers in the other direction.

No!

I managed to stand up and go forward, but the enemy ink slowed me down. I looked up at her and…

No…

Jade's lifeless body fell to the ground as Papa turned to me.

"Going _for_ _ **the**_ _Bear's_ Boat…" Papa spoke. "A good plan, _but it won't_ save you. _Nothing_ will… **now** …"

He then got smacked from behind by Greg. Papa then smacked him, grabbed him, and threw him into me.

Papa walked forward and raised his Trident to stab us, but he then stopped.

He just stood there staring at us; hands shaking.

Greg took that opportunity to aim his Blaster and fire a shot.

"GAH!" Papa hissed in pain as he flew backwards, onto the ground. Greg then aimed his blaster at the ground so we could move better.

"You hurt Papa…" We heard a voice say.

We turned to find a Salmonling.

"YOU HURT PAPA!" Another Salmonling came seemingly out of nowhere and bit Greg's left hand, causing him to drop his blaster.

"AAAAAGH!" Greg screamed in pain.

I kicked the Salmonling back, grabbed Greg, and Superjumped to the boat. As I landed, I noticed Callie and Guyver flying towards the boat as well. Greg's teammates followed shortly behind along with the remaining gladiators that haven't jumped yet. That was everybody.

One of Greg's teammates then quickly pressed a few buttons on the boat's controls and it speeded away on its return trip.

"What happened to the Salmonids going towards the ship?" One of Greg's teammates asked.

"They swam back to the Smokeyard a little after the Splashdown." Erin answered.

"…Greg!" Denise rushed over. "Oh Cod, your hand! I'll get some bandages!"

Bandages?

Oh…

That Salmonling bit off two of his fingers.

Greg slowly stood up.

I punched him in the face and he fell back down.

"What was that for?!" He was surprised?!

"YOU LET HER DIE!" I shouted.

"And?" He asked. "She was an Octoling. She would've done the same to you."

"No she wouldn't have!" I couldn't believe him. "She tried to save me! You're just a-"

"Just ignore him, Four!" Callie shouted. "He hates Octolings and you can't change his mind."

I glared daggers at him for a few more seconds before sighing and walking over to the front where Callie was.

"Mind telling us what the shell that was?!" Greg asked Callie as Denise returned with bandages.

"None of your business, Greg!" Callie replied. "Just go back to harassing Octolings or whatever you do these days. I'm tired…"

I could tell there's bad blood between them, but it didn't seem like either were in the mood to talk about it.

I just walked over to Guyver and sat next to him for the rest of the trip…


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

 **Flounder Heights…Mei's POV**

"Alright, I'm ready." I told Otis. "Are you sure Terry will stay here?"

"I hid the remote somewhere inside, so he can't go too far." Otis said. "Also, I think he's waaay too busy with my Squidstation."

I looked over to see Terry with his eyes glued to the TV as he played Squidlancer 5.

"I'll be back later, Terry!" Otis called out.

"Uh-huh…" Terry replied, barely acknowledging him.

"He'll be at that all day." Otis shrugged. "Now let's go see Beth."

 **Later…Octo Canyon…**

Alright, now to talk with Beth.

Hopefully she isn't too stressed out…

Just need to find her…there.

Oh Cod...she's interrogating another Octoling...

"I'll ask you again…" Beth said. "Where…is…Cass?!"

She aimed her Hero Shot at the Octoling.

"Please…I don't know…" The Octoling replied.

"I can do this all day, you know." Beth remarked. "How many times can Octarians handle their spawns though?"

"Beth, please stop!" I shouted.

"Codenames, 8!" She shouted. "And what do you mean stop? I'm trying to find Arnold."

"And he clearly doesn't know anything!" Otis told her. "You're just tormenting him for no reason! Arnold wouldn't want that!"

"Otis, why are you here?" Beth sighed.

"M…Eight asked me." I told her. "She wanted me to help her calm you down."

"Calm me down?!" She glared at me. "We need to find 3.5! Cass needs to pay!"

"Mei, I know you want to beat Cass's face in." I told her. "Heck, if anything, I want to beat her face in even more than you do, but you're spending all your time on patrol, you're hardly getting any sleep, you're getting more angry and distant, and I'm starting to get a little scared…"

"Mei…" Beth sighed. "I know you're worried about me, but I need to find him. He's…"

"Your best friend?" I guessed.

Beth fell silent.

"Three…" Otis stepped forward. "I know we don't get along, shell, we've gotten into fistfights more times than I can count, and we probably would've killed each other a while ago had other people not stopped us, but I've known Arnold just as long as you. I might've not been as close, but I know he wouldn't want to see you acting like this. Like her…"

"Otis…" Beth avoided eye-contact.

"We'll find him." Otis said. "Just…calm down and breathe. You aren't the only person whose been under a lot of stress these past few days. I thought my little sister might've died. Mei thought Guyver might've died. Marie thought Callie might've died. But they're alive. From what I've heard, they're taking a saucer back."

"Arnold will be fine." I told her. "Cassandra is a lot of things, but from what I've experienced, murderous isn't one of them."

Beth wasn't sure what to do.

"Beth…" I walked up to her. "Let's head home."

"…Okay…" Beth agreed and lowered her Hero Shot.

"…What…just…happened?" The Octoling was confused.

"It helps you out, doesn't it?" Otis asked.

The Octoling decided to stay quiet.

"…So what now?" Beth asked.

"…Wanna see if Damien'll score?" Otis asked.

"Sure…" Beth agreed. "With who?"

 **Later…**

Whaaaaaat?! When did this happen?! How did this happen?!

Zoey and Damien playing chess on the couch because Zoey has the hots for Damien now?!

…Well…at least she isn't obsessed with Guyver…

For now though, it was me, Beth, Otis, and Sam watching from a distance in anticipation.

"Uh…Knight takes rook?" Zoey moved the piece.

Damien then moved a piece.

"Checkmate." He said.

"I never learned how to play chess…" Zoey told him. "That's why I suu-hu-huuuuuk!"

"I-it's f-fine!" Damien told her. "N-no s-shame in l-losing…"

"It's fine, I guess…" Zoey sighed.

Is this really Zoey? She's showing a surprising amount of restraint…

Zoey then got up, walked over, and sat next to him.

"So…how about a reward for the winner?" Zoey asked.

Oh, never mind…

"I-uh…w…w-what d-d-did you have in m-mind?" Damien asked nervously as Zoey got closer.

Zoey then sat on his lap, facing him with a grin on her face. Damien's face looked like a tomato!

"Something nice." Zoey replied. "You want it?"

"…Y-yes…" Damien nodded his head.

Aaaaaand…Yes! She kissed him!

Okay, she pulled away…what's your response, Damien?

…

And he kisses her!

…

…Aaaaand now they're making out…

I signaled to the others that it was time to leave.

Probably best to let the new couple be.

Well, Sam will stay since she lives here.

I have a lot to tell Guyver when he comes back!

Hm? What's that in the distance?

I took some binoculars out of my bag.

Ivan?!

And he has binoculars too.

He then noticed me.

He nodded and gave me a thumbs-up before turning to leave.

"Hey Otis?" I got his attention. "Have you guys spoken to Ivan since the Tournament?"

"We haven't even seen him since the Tournament." He told me. "Why?"

…

…What a creeper…

…

I then got a text.

"They're back!" I shouted. "They're a little worse for the wear, but they're back!"

"Yes!" Otis got excited.

 **30 Minutes Later…**

We were told to all meet up at a warehouse by the docks. We weren't sure why here…until we opened the door.

Inside were a bunch of injured and exhausted Inklings and Octolings. In the crowd, we could see Marie and Marina helping tend to these cephalopods.

I then noticed-

"Guyver!" I ran over and gave him a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay! You…seem thinner…"

"Heh…well, constant fighting and barely eating any of the rancid food there will do that to you." He replied.

I noticed Otis give Sarah a big hug as well.

"I'm glad you're fine…" Otis said.

"H-hey, you can't keep me down." Sarah tried acting confident.

"I'm fine too." Callie teased Otis.

"I was just about to get to you." Otis assured Callie. "Geez, you guys look worse for the wear…"

"Eh, I needed to lose weight anyway." Callie shrugged. "Had a liiiittle too many Crabby Cakes back at the shack."

That managed to get a chuckle from all of us.

"You okay, Sarah?" I noticed she…as well as everyone else was very much bothered by something.

"The mission went horribly." Guyver explained. "Octavio wasn't even there."

"Well, you managed to free these people." I looked on the bright side.

"Not all of them…" Sarah sighed. "A few of them died…"

She then pointed to a green-haired squid with a bandaged hand.

"He…let someone die…" She said with utter hostility.

"…Greg?" Otis recognized him.

"You know him?" I was surprised.

"He's one of the assholes I know." Otis told me. "I've seen him take some of his guys around just to stop random Octolings and ask them questions. I didn't know they were Octolings at first, but now I do."

"Why?" I wondered.

"Apparently an Octoling killed his best friends years ago." Otis explained. "He just doesn't trust any of them."

"Hey guys, how long are we going to be here?" Some squid asked.

"Just until we can get a story clear, Erin." Callie told him. "One that doesn't involve talk of agents."

"Why not?" Greg, who overheard, asked. "Probably do a lot of good if people knew about the Octarian Menace still being around, causing trouble."

"It could cause another war, Greg!" Marie shouted.

"Maybe losing twice would teach them a lesson…" I could hear that jerk grumble.

"So what are you going to do, anyway?" I asked Erin. "After you and the others return to society?"

"Oh, first I'm going to reconnect with friends and family; let them know I'm not dead." Erin explained. "Then I'm suing the carp out of Grizzco. They're the reason I'm in this situation."

"Don't worry; you'll all be out soon." Marina told everyone. "We're just going to help get some stories straight, and then we'll call the authorities."

Of course, Greg, and to a lesser extent his Salmon Run team, would complain. However, they were overruled by the Inklings who just wanted to go home and the Octolings who wanted some peace and quiet. Marina wanted to talk to Otis about something real quick and then sent him back towards me and the other agents.

Otis, Sarah, Guyver, Beth, and I were allowed to leave and relax. Best the Splatoon isn't here when the authorities arrive. The other agents and Marina can get Pearl and pass themselves off as news coverage. The other cephalopods would be alright.

For now though, we needed rest.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

 **Flounder Heights…Sarah's POV**

We entered Otis's apartment.

"BOOYAH!" Terry shouted. Apparently he won a match in Squidlancer 5.

"Is this what he's been doing this whole time?" I asked Otis.

"Marina told me to show him around and teach him about freshness." Otis explained. "I was helping Mei out today, so I hid the remote and stuck him in front of the TV. He seems to like the game though."

Otis then went into another room, then came out a minute later.

"Where's the remote?!" He lost it?!

"On table." Terry answered.

Sure enough, it was on the living room table.

"How'd you find it?" Guyver asked.

"The Otis smell still on it." Terry answered, eyes still glued to the TV.

"Did you leave the apartment?" Otis wondered.

"No." Terry replied. "You had telling me no leave apartment. I no leave apartment. Terry worthy of trust!"

"Well, you have to come with us." Otis told him.

"Why?" Terry asked.

"You're going home." Otis told him. "Papa wants you back."

"Papa!" Terry shot up. "But…these thingies…"

Otis types a code on the remote and the clamps opened up and fell off. Terry then rubbed his wrists and neck.

"Otis will take you to Snapper Canal." I told him.

"But…fresh clothes…" He got concerned.

"Keep the ones you're wearing." Otis told him. "I'll keep the rest safe for you."

"Hmmm…mhm!" Terry nodded. "Okay, we will be going!"

Terry then got up and walked towards the door.

"Bye other squid I knew less." Terry waved us goodbye. "By Octopus I knew less."

"Bye Terry." I waved.

"Later." Guyver waved.

"Oh, it's your teammate Tim's birthday tomorrow, by the way." Otis told us. "You might want to think of something to get him."

Guyver and I looked at each other, wide-eyed.

Otis then took Terry away and Guyver and I went back to our apartment.

"Aaaaah…" I sighed. "Home sweet home…"

I kicked my boots off and walked in the door.

"OW!" I stepped on something. It was a flash drive with a note on it.

 _ **Dear Sarah and Guyver,**_

 _ **I made this all by myself. I hope you like it.**_

 _ **Sincerely, Octim.**_

I then turned on my laptop, plugged it in, and opened the file.

What played was a pretty decent song. He made this himself?

Wow…

Guyver found him a great teacher.

…

What to get him for his birthday though?

How old is he gonna be?

I'll ask tomorrow.

Oh wow, my phone's dead. Better plug it in.

…Okaaaay…oh…I got several texts from Sylvia…

They must've wanted to hang out…

Great, now I feel a little guilty…

…We'll make it up to them tomorrow…

 **Snapper Canal…Otis's POV**

"Just go up that way and you'll get to the ocean." I told him. "I'm pretty sure you'll figure out the rest of the way, right?"

"Yep." Terry replied. "I did the swim in many places. I am knowing of the way."

"Well, bye Terry." I waved.

"Bye bye, Otis!" He waved before jumping in the water.

I could see him making ripples in the distance before disappearing in the night.

Well, back to the apartment.

 **Octo Canyon…Arnold's POV**

I'm not sure why I'm still here at this point. Each day is basically me asking about something, her not wanting to answer, her going out to the bar, and coming back and flirting with me before passing out.

At least there's a bathroom in here.

The door then opened.

"I'm back." Cass waved.

"Where'd you go?" I asked.

"Had to do something for bitch." She answered.

"Who is…?" I wasn't sure.

"Julia Traeger." She answered.

"Traeger?" I remembered the name. "The person who helped you not get killed?"

"No, that was her brother Yan." Cass clarified. "Julia's commander of Octo Canyon."

"And she's a bitch because?" I was curious.

"She is so fake." Cass said as she crashed on the bed. "She acts all innocent, all polite, and all nice to the King, but I can tell for a fact it's all lies. She despises that old man with every fiber of her being."

"You can?" I was surprised.

"Let's say I'm good at reading people." Cass shrugged.

"And yet you can't tell I want you to untie me." I quipped.

"I need to be sure you won't run away!" She defended herself.

"And when will that be?" I wondered.

"When you stop trying to break out behind my back." She noticed.

"Maybe I'd stop if you actually gave me a reason to do so." I groaned.

"I want for you stay here with me, so I'm trying to convince you." She stated. "What do you think I've doing since you got here?"

"Not explaining anything I ask about, getting frustrated when I ask, leaving me alone for hours, drinking, flirting, then passing out." I told her. "That's all you've done."

Her eyes widened and she crashed face-down on the bed.

"…I'm bad at this…" She whined.

"You've…never dated, have you?" I guessed.

"I have…" She said, not moving. "…Once…"

"Wanna talk about it?" I asked.

"No." She replied.

"Of course…" I laid back. "You never want to talk about anything…"

She started mumbling something.

"Hm?" I didn't hear.

"...It was a few years ago…" She told me. "I…didn't know what it was at the time…she actually managed to make my life here for me less awful…but she died in a dome collapse."

"Is that why there are two shot glasses on the stool?" I wondered.

"…Yes…" She admitted. "She was my favorite and only drinking buddy…"

Geez, that's rough…

"Cass, you clearly have a lot of issues." I pointed out.

"Really?" She sarcastically asked. "What gave it away?"

"Buuuut, I'm willing to help you with your problems." I told her.

"How?" She was curious.

"Well, talking about it of course." I replied. "Maybe I can help you fix them and you won't be such a terrible person."

"…Ugh…okay…" Cass sighed. "I may need a few bottles here for…some subjects…"

"That's fine." I nodded my head. "But if we're going to do this, I need two things from you."

"What?" She raised an eyebrow.

"First, I need to call my friends and tell them I'm okay." I started listing. "Thr…you know what, Beth…probably wants to beat your face in right now. And she will find you eventually."

"Right…" She nodded her head. "And the other thing?"

"Untie me." I told her. "If you can't trust me, I can't trust you."

"…You won't run away?" She asked.

"I won't." I assured her.

She took a moment to consider it, and then started loosening the ropes. They fell to my sides and I moved out of them. She stared at me, clearly expecting me to make a move, but I just sat on the bed.

"Now to call my friends." I stated. "My phone? I know you have it."

"R-right…" She reached into a cabinet and pulled it out and handed it to me.

I started texting.

 **3.5: Hey Beth, it's me.**

 **3.5: I'm alright**

 **Agent 3: Is it really you?**

 **Agent 8: Truly?**

 **3.5: Yeah.**

 **Agent 3: How do we know?**

 **Agent 3: Tell me something only Arnold would know.**

 **3.5: The first time I showed you my ex-girlfriend, you blurted out "She's hot."**

 **Agent 3: Arnold!**

 **Agent 8: Ooooooooooh!**

 **3.5: You asked.**

 **Agent 3: Where are you?!**

 **Agent 3: Are you okay?!**

 **Agent 3:Tell me where Cass is so Mei and I can beat her face in!**

 **3.5: I'm still in the domes.**

 **3.5: I'm okay.**

 **3.5: And I'm going to be staying for a little while.**

 **Agent 3: What? Why?**

 **3.5: Let's just say I'll be helping someone work out some issues while I'm here.**

 **3.5: I'll be back, but it'll just be a little while.**

 **Agent 3: Are you sure about this?**

 **3.5: Positive. You don't need to worry.**

 **3.5: I'll be fine.**

 **Agent 3: If you say so…I'm still worried though.**

 **3.5: And we're all worried about your hygiene.**

 **Agent 8: LOL yeah! Take a bath, stinky squid!**

 **Agent 3: Mei, you too?**

 **Agent 8: Hey, you what we have to keep going, you can't smell like BO and ink all the time.**

 **Agent 3: Fiiiiiiine…**

 **Agent 3: I'll take a shower…**

 **3.5: Good to know.**

 **3.5: Well, I'll see you later, guys!**

 **Agent 8: Okay. See ya. Stay safe.**

 **Agent 3: Okay. Bye.**

Well, now that-oh, another text.

 **Agent 3: You better not be bonking Cass.**

 **Agent 8: EEEEEWWW!**

 **3.5: I'M NOT!**

 **Agent 3: Good. See ya.**

Ugh…Beth, even if I was, my personal life isn't your concern.

"Yet." Cass said.

"Huh?" I was confused.

"You should've typed 'I'm not...yet'." She winked.

"I don't plan on it…" I groaned.

"Oh come on…" She crossed her arms and smirked. "Two people, clearly attracted to each other, sharing the same room, same bed, and nothing will happen?"

My face went red as I glared at her.

"Fffffa-hahahaha!" She burst out laughing.

I just did my best to ignore her.

…

This is going to be a looooong stay, isn't it?


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 **The Next Day…Flounder Heights…Guyver's POV**

Alright, a new day!

Well, it's still a little dark…

Cap says Sarah and I can take it easy for a bit and just in time for Octim's birthday.

I texted him that we should hang out.

Sarah was still asleep, so I decided not to wake her.

I decided to take a walk outside.

Huh…it looks like the Sun will rise soon.

…Is that the Cap'n on a bench down there?

I walked over.

"Hey Cap," I waved. "What're you doing here?"

"I've been stayin' with 4.5 for reasons." He sort of explained. "He's up too, tryin' to get back to sleep though. Meanwhile, I thought I'd watch the Sunrise."

"Yeah…same…" I nodded.

I sighed.

"Still troubled about the trip?" He asked.

"Not just me, but Sarah too." I told him. "I'm down because we went through all that for nothing and Sarah…well, I think that was the first time she's seen someone die…"

"Hmmm…it's always tough seein it happen…" The Cap'n remarked. "And another actually doin' it…"

"Well, we're going to be celebrating the birthday of someone who has done the ladder…" I shrugged.

"Wait, is it that Octim kid?" He guessed.

"Yeah." I nodded my head. "You met him?"

"He showed up the other day droppin' somthin' off fer you two." He told me. "We had a nice little chat. Didn't know he'd be the type to kill…"

"He's not." I assured him. "He did it to save my life. He's doing fine now, but he probably still thinks about it."

"Poor lad…" He sighed. "And at such a young age…"

"Yeah…" I agreed.

We then heard rustling in the bushes.

"Who's there?!" I jumped up.

"Come out!" Cuttlefish ordered, aiming his Bamboozler cane. "I'm armed!"

"No!" The familiar voice cried out. "No shoot! I am being here in friendliness!"

Out of the bushes came Terry.

"Now, what're you doin' here, lad?" Cuttlefish wondered. "Didn't 4.5 send you home?"

Terry then came out of the bushes. "I…I swim…to Rivers…" His voice was shaky. "I…was…smelling different…too weird…"

"What happened then?" Cuttlefish asked.

Terry walked a little closer.

We then noticed some bruises and bite marks.

"They…did not like Terry smell…" He crouched on the ground as tears started welling up. "Other Salmon…No know terry…They see Terry…They…attack Terry…T-terry no go back…"

He started crying now.

"H-hey, it's fine…" I put my hand on his shoulder. "We'll take care of you."

"Th…thank you…" He sniffled. "I…no know your name…"

"Guyver." I told him.

I helped him stand back up and into Otis's apartment. Cuttlefish and I helped patch up his wounds and get him to bed. He fell asleep surprisingly fast.

We missed the sunrise while helping Terry, but it's not like it mattered anyway.

If Craig and I had to guess, we'd say that the reason he smelled different was from being in the city so much. Must've thought he was a threat.

Can't help but feel guilty for that…

Well, he can hang out here then…it's the least we can do…

 **Hours Later...**

Sarah slowly woke up to see me looking at her.

"Hey sexy." I greeted her.

"Uuuh…Hey, Guyver." She slowly sat up. "How long were you watching me?"

"Just a few minutes." I told her. "You looked so peaceful."

"Well, what's the news for today?" She wondered.

"We have relaxation time, so we'll hang out with Tim for his birthday." I told her. "Also update: Terry's back."

"Really?" She was surprised. "Why?"

"Apparently he smelled too much like Inklings." I told her. "The other Salmonids thought he was a threat and they attacked him. He's going to be here for a while."

"Oh Cod…" She felt sorry for the fish. "Hopefully he'll feel better soon."

"Same here." I nodded my head as I stood up. "Well for now, we'd better get up. Don't want you sleeping through Tim's entire birthday."

"I wooon't." She rolled her eyes. "Now can you please leave? I need to change."

"Go ahead, I won't mind." My bluff was met with a tissue box hitting me in the face. "I'll wait for you in the living room."

 **Later…Inkopolis Square…Sarah's POV**

We could see Tim and Sylvia by Deca Tower. A good place to meet up; can't miss it.

"Hey guys!" I shouted. "We're here!"

They turned to see us.

"Hey guys-uh…" Tim looked worried. "You two okay? You look…uh…thinner…"

"It's a long story that we don't feel like explaining." Guyver told them.

"Wanting to lose weight is fine, but anorexia isn't." Sylvia remarked.

"We aren't anorexic." I sighed. "We just…had a rough week."

"Remind me never to join the Splatoon…" I heard Tim say to Sylvia.

Wait, what?

"Wait, how do you know about that?" I needed to know.

He clearly didn't expect me to hear him.

"Uh…I-uh…Sylvia told me!" He admitted.

Of course…

"Well…he showed me his eyes!" Sylvia shouted.

Wait, what?

"W-well, i-it was a mutual exchange of secrets!" He explained. "I'm in on your secret and she's in on mine. I won't tell anyone though. Promise!"

Guyver and I facepalmed.

You know what? I don't care right now…after the week we just had, I wanna take it easy…

"…I'd care more, but I just wanna relax." I shrugged. "So…movie?"

"Movie!" Sylvia and Tim shouted in unison.

"Then it's settled." Guyver nodded. "…Hey, what happened to your arm?"

His left forearm was covered in bandages

"Uh…burned it…" Tim replied.

"Got a little carried away with the Crust Bucket's fryers I'm guessing?" Guyver guessed.

"Y-yeah." Tim said. "Just don't talk to Sean about it…it was my fault for not being careful, but he still feels a little guilty…"

"So Tim's gonna be doing some other stuff for a while." Sylvia added.

"Well, hope it heals soon." Guyver hoped. "Now…what movie to see?"

Wait…is that…?

"Hey," I pointed at his hip. "Is that a Fishing Lure?"

Wow, Tim...I always saw you as kinda shy, but wow…

What happens to you when we aren't here?

 **Meanwhile…Cuttlefish Cabin…**

Cap'n Cuttlefish returned to the Cabin to see how the Splatoon work was going.

"Alright so far." Marie told him. "We plan to do scans into the settlements to find a quick way into the Gorge. So far our best bet is taking the route through Octo Ravine. Place is fairly low-security and it's likely they don't think we'd go there."

"Well, that's great!" Cuttlefish remarked. "Good to know we actually have a plan. Now if we can-"

The Cap'n was interrupted by someone going through the manhole.

It was Ammoses looking none-too-happy.

"Oh, Ammoses…" Cuttlefish waved. "How are things? That problem of yer's get solved?"

Ammoses just glared at him.

"Gramps…" Callie walked over to him. "I think it's time you told him…"

Ammoses looked at them both, confused.

The Cap'n sighed.

"Ammoses…I need to tell ya somethin'…" He walked over. "I can't understand a word ya say…and I haven't been able to in quite some time…"

Ammosses looked shocked, then shook his head and sighed. He then made a motion with his hands.

"You…want a pen and paper?" Callie guessed.

Shellendorf nodded his head.

"Well batter me up and put me in a fryer!" Cuttlefish remarked. "Why didn't I think of that?"

They handed the old crab a pen and paper and he wrote down a message. He handed it to them and it read:

 _ **Octavio is in my training room back in Inkopolis Plaza!**_

The elderly squid's eyes widened.

"Agents, we've got a DJ to catch!" Cuttlefish told his granddaughters. "New Squidbeak Splatoon, let's move out!"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

 **Inkopolis Plaza…**

"Come on, Squidbeak!" Captain Cuttlefish shouted. "We've got to-oof!"

He brushed himself off after bumping into something.

"Oh, sorry young man." He apologized. "I wasn't lookin' where I was goin'."

The person he bumped into turned around to show an elderly Inkling with different ears, a smaller beard, less buggy eyes, a better posture, and a regular cane.

"Young man?" The old squid was surprised. "I appreciate the compliment, but I'm 125."

"Oh, really now?" The Cap'n stopped, intrigued. "I don't see too many old folks around here. You a veteran?"

"Um…" Marie tried interrupting. "Shouldn't we…?"

"Sure am!" He nodded. "Gerald of the Southeastern resistance, pleased to meet ya…"

"Cuttlefish." The Cap'n introduced himself. "Cap'n Cuttlefish. And with me is Ammoses Shellendorf."

"Ah, of the legendary Squidbeak Splatoon!" He recognized the names. "You remember me? You rescued me from captivity once."

"I did?" He tried remembering.

"It was at Fort Mantle." Gerald reminded him. "I got captured by Octolangelo and we had that fight with his Brush-wielding lackey."

"Sounds familiar…" Cuttlefish was remembering. "Did we win that fight?"

"Battle: Yes." Gerald replied. "Brushfight against that Elite: No. In fact, we got destroyed."

"Oh yeah…" The Cap'n remembered. "Not my best moment…So how've ya been holdin' up since the war?"

"I…eventually settled down in my home in Cirrina." Gerald told him. "I had four kids and I'm gonna visit two of my grandsquids in this city."

"Oh?" Cuttlefish was intrigued. "What're their names?"

"Sarah and Otis." Gerald answered. "I hear they live at Flounder Heights."

"Oh, yer their grandpappy, eh?" Cuttlefish was surprised. "I know them. Nice squiddos ya got. They help me out here and there."

"Well it's good to hear they're out there doing good for people." Gerald remarked. "So why the hurry?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot!" Cuttlefish remembered the matter at hand. "We've got a bad guy in Inkopolis and my agents and I are gonna catch him! Wanna come with?"

"Ah, still in action, eh?" Gerald stroked his beard. "I would, but I've got birthday party scheduling to do."

"Well, I hope it goes-"

"Gerald!" An Octoling woman called as she walked over. "You see Tim anywhere?"

 **Meanwhile…Otis's POV**

Didn't take long to learn that Terry came back. Poor fish…

"You need anything?" I asked.

"…No…" Terry replied, clutching a pillow. "No need…"

"Well, our friend Tim's having a birthday today." I told him. "Maybe I could see if you could come to the possible party later?"

"…Mmm…maybe…" He replied, not really cheering up much.

"I'll just let you sleep." I decided and shut the door.

Ugh…something good happen…

A minute later, I heard a knock on the door.

I opened it to see…

"…Dad?" My eyes widened.

"Otis!" He pulled me into a bear hug. "How've ya been?"

"Heh…great…" I wasn't sure how to process this.

"Dad and I came to visit." He told me. "Can I come in?"

"Alright, but keep it down." I urged him. "My roommate's trying to sleep."

"I'll try." He shrugged. "So where's Sarah? She wasn't at her apartment."

"She and her roommate are going to do something with her friend Tim." I recalled. "Apparently it's his birthday today."

"Yeah…" Dad nodded his head. "Well, I guess I'll see her a little later. So what've you been up to?"

"Hanging with my friends mostly." I told him. "We got a decent amount of the way into the Tournament before losing to the Runners up."

"Nice." He nodded his head. "What do they look like again?"

I took out my phone.

"One with the dark blue hair and glasses is Damien," I showed him. "The one next to him in the hat is his sister Sam, and the tan one with the light blue hair is Ivan."

He took my phone to get a better look.

"Ah, they look nice." He remarked.

I swiped to the right.

"Next picture over is Arnold," I continued. "That's Mei, that's Zoey, that's Guyver-"

"Guyver?" He raised an eyebrow. "Ah, so this is the boyfriend Sarah has…"

He knows about that?

I noticed he swiped some more, then stopped.

"Now what's this?" He smirked as he showed me….Oh no… "You got yourself a sweetheart? She's a looker too. What's her name?"

He doesn't know?!

Wait…Sarah didn't either…

"C-Callie…" I admitted. "Just…don't go around telling people about it. She's kind of high profile and we don't want to make it public just yet…"

"That's fine." He shrugged. "I can keep a secret. So is one of them your roommate?"

"No, my roommate is Terry." I answered. "He's new…"

"Ah…" Dad understood. "Guess I'll stay here for a little bit. Get a chance to catch up with you since…y'know…barely seen ya in 2 years."

"Alright," I agreed. "What do you want to know?"

 **Inkopolis Plaza…**

Callie, Marie, Cap'n Cuttlefish, Ammoses Shellendorf, an Octoling mother, and a seemingly random Inkling boy stood at the plaza, not knowing what awaited them.

"Geez, I kinda feel bad for this place…" Callie said. "And a liiittle creeped out by the ghost town vibes."

"Wait, this is where I last saw Tim." The Inkling Boy said. "I helped him get his musical equipment in the old Ammo Knights."

The Cap'n and Ammoses looked at him and then at the mother. The mother then pushed her way into the building and into the training area with the others following and froze at the sight of the Octarian DJ himself, scratching a disk.

He turned and noticed them.

"Ah, Amphia!" Octavio seemed pleasantly surprised. "Glad to see you've finally come back…"

"You…" Amphia almost whispered.

"Took ya long enough to come back to me." Octavio grumbled. "Ah, I see you've brought Craig and Shellendork along too, and the Squid Sisters, and…no idea who the last squid is."

"What's going on?" Ivan came in from the upper area. "Oh no! The ducky club found me! I know this looks bad, but I tell ya, I'm innocent!"

They just stared at him a moment before returning their gaze to the DJ.

"Whatever you're up to is over, Octavio!" The Cap'n stated, aiming his Bamboozler cane.

"Up to?" Octavio seemed confused. "I ain't up to nothin'. Just hangin' around and droppin' some beats."

"Bullshark." Marie rolled her eyes. "You have some plan to take over Inkopolis, don't you?"

"Nah!" The DJ shook his head. "In fact, I plan on retiring soon."

"Retiring?" Callie tilted her head.

"Wait…" The Inkling boy tried interrupting. "Who…is this g-"

"Where's Tim?!" Amphia shouted.

"Tim?" Octavio put a tentacle where his chin would be. "Guess it's appropriate he should be here, Amphia. Wouldn't you agree? Bring him here. I'll wait, and then we'll explain everything..."

 **Continued in "The Boy from Cirrina" Chapter 35…**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

 **Continued from "The Boy From Cirrina" Chapter 35…**

 **Inkopolis Plaza Ammo Knights Training Room…Sarah's POV**

"That…was not supposed to happen…" Octavio said as he and Tim's mom were staring upwards.

"Bring him back!" Tim's mom shouted.

"Back?" Octavio stared at her. "I only made this thing to go one way! You, the boy, and I were supposed to all be in there!"

"Where did he go?!" The Cap'n wanted an answer.

"Home!" Octavio crossed his arms before getting his Squidphone taken by Tim's mom.

"Amphia!" Octavio tried getting it back to no avail.

"He's been sent to Octo Canyon." Amphia told us. "Octo Canyon? That's a settlement, but it's not your home…"

"Figured it'd take more time for the Agents to get there." Octavio explained. "Time for security to prepare."

"Come on, Guyver!" I shouted. "We'll find him!"

"No you don't!" The Cap'n stopped us. "You two and Agent 1 are still recoverin' from yer trip to the Rivers. Agent 2, you go and take 3 and 8 with ya."

"Right!" Agent 2 nodded and rushed out.

"…Hey, uh…do I know you and 2?" The Inkling known as Ben asked Agent 1. "You two look familiar…"

"Mmmmm-nope!" Agent 1 replied. "Aaaand if you wouldn't mind, would you keep this a secret? This is all supposed to be secret."

"Keep a squidnapping a secret?!" Ben was shocked.

"4, 8.5, can you two leave us alone for a bit while I explain why some things should be kept secret?" Agent 1 asked us. "Cap and I can get Octavio back to his snowglobe and we'll call an ambulance for Sylvia."

We did as she said and Ammoses led us out of the store.

 **Later…**

Guyver and I were just walking around the city for a while. We had no idea what to do. We somehow ended up at the boardwalk near Wahoo World. We hardly said a word to each other. That was a lot to process.

"Well…that was a rush of information…" I finally broke the mostly silence. "This whole time the person I used to know as that weird kid from back home was a prince…"

"Yeah…" Guyver nodded his head. "It's a shock to me too…back home there was a massive funeral for Octavio Jr. and his wife…and it turns out she survived and had a son…I don't remember it because I was a baby at the time, but I saw pictures."

"Hopefully he can come back…" I hoped.

"Yeah…" He agreed. "Huh…now the whole 'hiding his eyes from everyone' thing makes more sense now…"

"Because some Inklings might find out?" I guessed. "I mean, Sylvia didn't seem to mind. Heck, most Inklings don't even know about Octolings in Inkopolis."

"No, because opinion of the royal family is at an all-time low among Octarian refugees." He explained. "They'd probably treat him as if he brainwashed them himself."

"If that happens, I'll show them what for." I told him.

"Same." Guyver nodded his head. "Hopefully they'll let us back in action soon. I want to help get him back too."

"Well, we'll have to wait until they'll let us." I shrugged.

"Wanna head home for now?" He asked.

"Sure…" Something then caught my eye. "What's that in the water?"

We saw ripples in the watter coming towards us. A figure then jumped out and grabbed the side of the boardwalk.

"Sarah!" A familiar Salmonling shouted. "Finnia find!"

"Finnia?!" I was shocked to see her. "What are you doing here?!"

"Finnia come find Terry!" She said. "Bring home! Finnia try ask."

"How'd you find us?" Guyver asked.

"Follow Sarah scent!" She pulled out-

"My jacket!" I took it. It was soaking wet, but it was back! "I thought I'd never see it again!"

"Well-come!" Finnia smiled. "Now bring Terry home?"

"We already let Terry swim home…" Guyver told her. "He got attacked by the other Salmonids because he smelled too different and came back."

"What?!" Finnia was shocked to hear that. "But…that…wrong! Finnia…no believe!"

"It happened." Guyver told her. "He came back to Flounder Heights wounded and crying. He's been lying in a bed since then."

"Poor Terry!" Finnia was worried. "Finnia…Finnia tell Papa!"

"W-wait!" I tried stopping her, but she already dove into the water.

Well…that happened…

At least I got my jacket back…

"Let's go home now…" I sighed.

Guyver nodded his head and we were off.

 **Flounder Heights…Guyver's POV**

We soon made it back to the apartment complex. We were about to go up the steps when I noticed Otis walking down the street with someone.

"Hey, Sarah…" I got her attention. "Who's that with Otis?"

She looked over and her eyes widened.

The stranger next to Otis noticed her too.

"DADDYYYYYY!" She sprinted forwards towards the man.

"Seashell!" He kneeled down and held his arms open.

Sarah jumped into his arms and he spun her around…faster…and faster…and then he threw her about 20 feet in the air. Sarah turned into a squid and he caught her.

"I missed you sooooo muuch!" Sarah cried.

"Me too!" Sarah's dad replied. "Can you shift back please? You're getting ink on my hands."

Sarah then shifted back.

"Heheh...sorry." She giggled.

Her dad then pulled her into a tight squeeze before putting her down.

"I still can't believe how big you're getting!" He remarked. "And lighter apparently…"

"Uh…money's been a little tight lately." Sarah told him. "Luckily the two of us can pay rent, but the food ain't 5-star yet."

"We?" He then looked at me. "Aaaahhh…you must be Guyver. The boyfriend…"

He knows about me?

He walked over and looked at me.

"Hm…interesting…" What? "Well, I hope you're treating her well."

"I wouldn't treat her badly, sir." I replied. "I assure you."

"Well, I'll be watching you." He got close. "Because if you break my baby girl's heart…I will break you."

Gulp…

"I-I would never!" I told him. "She'd get bored of me loooong before I got bored of her."

He seemed intrigued by my response.

"Dad, this is my first boyfriend." Sarah sighed. "Can you not scare him off?"

"I'm not scared." I told her. "He doesn't look that tough."

He then pulled his sleeve up to his bicep and smirked…

…I'm a twig compared to him…

"Hehe…alright, sweetie." He chuckled. "I need to meet dad back at the hotel anyway."

"Gramps is here too?" Sarah was surprised.

"Yeah, he also wanted to visit." Sarah's dad told her. "Well, I'd better go. Take care of yourselves, kids! I'll try to see if we can all go out to eat sometime!"

Sarah and Otis waved him goodbye.

I gave a shy wave.

"…He scared you, didn't he?" Otis asked.

"…A little…" I admitted. "He looks like he could crush my head…"

Sarah and Otis just shrugged it off and we went back to our apartments.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

 **The Next Day…Inkopolis Plaza…Guyver's POV**

Sarah and I decided to eat at the café in Inkopolis Plaza.

"So how's the Tim situation?" I asked.

"He got sent to the Sector Commander of Octo Gorge." Sarah told me. "Apparently Mei and Beth have met her before and she said she'd beef up security next time, and she wasn't lying. We now have three people stuck in the Octarian domes."

Great…

"Cap says we should be good to go by tomorrow though." She shrugged. "We'll be able to get Tim back, Marina will be able to find a way into Octo Gorge, and we'll get that Alice girl back."

"It's been a week now, hasn't it?" I asked. "You sure her father won't crack?"

"He was told not to fall for it." She replied. "It seems to be working so far."

"Hey, uh…should we be discussing this in a place like this?" I wondered. "I mean, that tall urchin guy over there could be listening."

"I won't lie to you, bloke, I was." He said. "I just don't care."

Right…

"Your breakfast wraps?" A waitress came.

"Woo!" We cheered in unison.

 **Later…**

I decided to walk around by myself for a bit. I guess I needed to think.

About what, I have no idea…

I just hung on the railing at one of the canals.

"Hey!" Someone called out, getting closer. "Guyver, right?"

It was a blue squid with glasses.

"Oh, you're on Otis's team, right?" I recognized him.

"Well, technically it's my team, but yeah." He shrugged. "Damien by the way. So where's Sarah?"

"I needed to think for a bit." I told him.

"Yeah, we all get those moments." He agreed. "I needed to think some after the tournament."

"Oh yeah, the Tournament." I remembered. "We never got to battle you. We fought the champions too early."

"We lost to the guys who'd later be the runners up." He replied. "Well, whenever Ivan gets back, I'm sure we'd like to have a battle with you guys."

"Well, he's hanging around the Plaza if you want to see him." I informed him.

"Yeah, I know." He shrugged.

"You do?" I was surprised. "How?"

"He-uh, called me." He said. "Ivan trusts me over the…Duck Club?"

Someone end this joke…

"So why are you here?" I wondered.

"M-my…girlfriend…wanted to go on a date." He replied.

"Oh…" I was surprised. "And I was led to believe you were just a stereotypical dork."

He glared at me with the most unamused expression

"Um…so who's your date?" I was curious.

"Hey Guyver!" I saw Zoey coming. "Took ya long enough to get back!"

"Zoey, not now…" I sighed. "Why are you even here?"

"I'm here for him…" She smirked, walked over, and covered Damien's mouth with her own.

That caught my attention.

A second later, Damien pulled away, face red and breathing heavily.

"What's wrong?" She was confused. "I've kissed you before!"

"Y-you n-n-never used t-t-tongue b-before!" Damien told her.

"Oh…" She blushed. "Heh, sorry!"

You're gonna give me a heart attack…" Damien remarked.

"Ummm…when did this happen?" I needed to know.

"While you were gone." Damien told me. "It just…uh…happened I guess…"

"…Well, if it works for both of you, I hope it goes well." I shrugged. "Glad you found someone, Zoey."

She wasn't even listening to me. She was just clinging to Damien.

"I'll leave you two alone…" I waved Damien goodbye.

He chuckled and awkwardly waved goodbye.

…

I need to tell Sarah about this…

 **Elsewhere…Some time before…**

"And he no come back! No know what do!"

"…"

"Must feel lonely…"

"…Yes… **I'm** _sure he_ does…"

"Finnia help if know how…"

" **As** would I…"

"…What…if…Finnia help Terry!"

"How would you do that?"

"No can bring back…but can do other thing…"

"… **Tell me** what you _want to do_ …"

 **Later…Otis's Apartment...**

"-And she goes up and smooches him!" Guyver continued explaining. "They're a couple now!"

"Oooooh Myyyyy Cod!" Sarah was surprised.

"I-uh…already knew." Otis told him. "I saw the moment they got together, as did Beth, Mei, and Sam."

"I am…not getting…couple of what?" Terry was confused.

"As in…you know…" Sarah tried explaining. "Romance?"

The depressed fish tilted his head in confusion.

Otis was about to say something when there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get…" Terry decided and got up to answer the door. "Hel-"

"Terry!" A Salmonling tackled him to the ground.

Terry sniffed her.

"Finnia?!" He was surprised. "Why are you being here?!"

"Finnia hear Terry here." She told him. "Terry Sound lonely. Finnia help Terry!"

"How?" Otis asked her.

"Finnia stay here!" She answered. "With Terry!"

"Is that a good idea?" Guyver was hesitant. "Your Papa freaked out that one of you was missing."

"Papa say O-K!" Finnis replied. "Papa say "If keep Terry com-penny help, then do! He give biggest hug b-4 Finnia go!"

The Inklings and Octoling looked at each other. Sarah and Guyver were baffled by how Papa can swap from insane warlord to somewhat reasonable just like that.

"Finnia here…" She nodded her head. "For Terry…Papa no like see friend upset…Finnia no like see friend upset. Here help cheer up…"

"Th…thanks, Finnia…" Terry smiled. "Oh, Can Finnia stay?"

"Well, Cap'n Cuttlefish isn't staying here, so there's room…" Otis said. "As long as you two don't make a mess, I guess it's fine…"

"Yes!" Terry pulled himself and Finnia up. "Come! I will be showing you the room!"

The cephalopods watched the two fish run into the guest room.

"You really okay with this?" Sarah asked Otis.

"Well, Terry was bad at first, but he got better very quickly, so I'm sure Finnia will too." Otis told them.

"If it works with you, it works with us, I guess…" Guyver shrugged. "So how long until they pay rent?"

"Not sure…" Otis said, having not really thought about that. "I guess whenever they understand the city enough to actually get a job."

They all decided that was fair and Sarah and Guyver went back to their apartment.

 **Elsewhere…Another POV**

"Mmmmm…"I was slowly waking up.

"…She's waking up…" A familiar voice said. "Guys, she's waking up!"

I opened my eyes. I was definitely in a hospital.

"Sylvia!" She pulled me close. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"D-Denise?!" I was surprised to see her. "W-where am I? What's going on? Wait…Where's Tim?!"

"Who's Tim?" Denise asked.

"Tim's my friend." I told her. "He's…Oh Cod, he's in trouble!"

"What happened?" She asked.

"I…I remember…music…my friends…Tim was taken!" I remembered. "I think Octavio took him!"

"Octavio?" Another familiar voice spoke. "That's…clearly an Octarian name. As in the Octarian Menace?"

I looked over. It was Greg!

"Y-yes!" I told him. "Wait…how'd you know I was here?"

"I needed to get treated myself." Greg told me, showing his bandaged left hand. "Now what's this I hear about someone getting squidnapped?"

 **To Be Continued...**


	16. Epilogue

Epilogue

 **The Next Day…Sarah's POV**

Things to do…

So many things to do today…

And all of them are gonna help us get Tim back.

Though…I do have one thing to do first…

I entered the store.

"Hey Sarah." Clair did her tired wave. "Welcome to Zander's Beats."

"Hi Clair…" I said, weakly.

"Are…you okay?" She noticed I wasn't.

"This…is for you…" I gave her the dogtags.

"Wait, are these?" She took them. "Where's Jade?!"

I didn't respond. I couldn't even make eye-contact.

"Oh…" She understood. "Well…that's another one down…"

Another one?

"Was she dying when she gave you these?" She asked.

"No." I answered. "She gave me them before, saying she'd find her own way in Inkopolis. She said you'd understand why she wouldn't give them to you herself."

"Heh…" She actually chuckled a bit. "Yeah…I do…unfortunate that that's not the way her story ended…"

"Yeah…" I sighed.

"It's fine." She assured me. "I'm sure there wasn't anything you could've done."

"It wasn't me…" I told her. "Someone else could've, but didn't…"

"…I see…" She looked like she was thinking.

"Wh-who were your other squadmates?" I wondered.

"It's not a pretty story…" She warned me.

"I saw Jade die." I replied. "I can handle it."

She then had a surprised look on her face.

"…Well, along with Jade, I had Eva and Harold." She told me. "Eva was our support. She was killed during a mission years ago. Harold on the other hand…he's the only one not accounted for…I sent him to find my sisters in the chaos after Octavio's concert and…haven't seen him since…considering what happened to my sisters…I don't have high hopes…"

Oh…

"I'm…sure we'll find him…" I tried being hopeful.

"Maybe…" She didn't sound so sure.

"Well, I've got to go now." I turned to leave. "Got 'You-know-what' business."

"Right…" She waved goodbye.

I walked to the door.

"S-Sarah!" She called out.

"Yes?" I stopped and turned.

"…Thanks for giving me these…" She half-smiled.

"…Welcome…" I half-smiled before leaving the store.

 **Flounder Heights…Otis's POV**

"Another movie interview?" I asked over the phone. "Can't you put it on hold?"

"Hey, I'm all about saving the city," Callie assured me. "But I still need to have my career to come back to."

"That's fair…" I guess. "Better than the job I got stuck with…"

"Hey, you're our back-up." Callie said. "We've gotta leave someone behind to protect Inkopolis!"

"Me…and only me…" I pointed out.

"You and the Cap'n!" She corrected me. "Oh, and Pearl too! You're the best reserve force we've got!"

"That's…not encouraging…" I groaned.

"…Oh Cod, yeah…" She agreed. "Uh-how about I come over after my interview? We can make a day out of it!"

"Heh…sounds good." I nodded my head. "Well, for now I've got babysitting to do."

"Have fun and stay fresh, Oats!" Callie said as she presumably did her iconic pose on the other side.

"Yeah, you too." I replied before we both hung up.

"That Long-hair squid girl?' Finnia asked.

"Yeah." I said. "She might be coming over later."

"So…squid friends?" She tilted her head.

"Squid friends." I nodded my head. "…Where's Terry?"

"Terry say 'Otis say we get job one day'." She told me. "So Terry get job!"

"By himself?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yup, yup!" She nodded her head. "Terry make Otis proud!"

"I just hope he doesn't get lost in the city…" I sighed. "Cod knows he probably wouldn't survive on his own yet…"

"Salmonling no thing if no do-rabble." She failed the phrase. "He be fine!"

"Well, at least you'll learn better Inklish while you're here." I shrugged.

"So…how Terry get new smell?" She leaned in. "Smell different and nice?"

Well, this'll be awkward…

 **To be Continued...**


End file.
